6>T>irBrtr*.  Row  Print  and  Boo*  Shop, Inc 


New  Haven.  Conn 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN 
AND  :  I 

HIS  BOOKS 

BY 
WILLIAM    E.    BARTON 

Author  of 

"The  Soul  of  Abraham  Lincoln," 
"The  Paternity  of  Abraham  Lincoln"  etc. 

With  Selections 

from  the  Writings  of  Lincoln 

and  a  Bibliography  of  Books  in  Print 

Relating  to  Abraham  Lincoln 


CHICAGO 

Published  by  the  Book  Section  of 

MARSHALL   FIELD   &    COMPANY 

1920 


Copyright  1920 
MARSHALL  FIELD  &  COMPANY 


& 

HS1 
CONTENTS 


PART   I 

ABRAHAM  LINCOLN  AND  HIS  BOOKS 

I.    THE  BOOKS  THAT  MADE  LINCOLN 7 

II.    THE  BOOKS  THAT  LINCOLN  MADE 20 

III.    BOOKS  ABOUT  LINCOLN 27 

PART  II 

SELECTIONS  FROM  THE  WRITINGS 
OF  LINCOLN 

NOTES  FOR  A  LAW  LECTURE 51 

CONCERNING  FREE  AND  SLAVE  LABOR       54 

THE  HOUSE  DIVIDED  AGAINST  ITSELF       56 

His  LAST  WORDS  AT  SPRINGFIELD 57 

THE  EMANCIPATION  PROCLAMATION 58 

THE  GETTYSBURG  ADDRESS .     .  61 

ADDRESS  ON  His  RE-ELECTION         62 

THE  SECOND  INAUGURAL  ADDRESS 64 

LETTER  TO  THE  PARENTS  OF  COLONEL  ELMER  E.  ELLSWORTH     .  67 

LETTER  TO  MRS.  BIXBT 69 

LETTER  TO  His  DYING  FATHER        „     .  70 


PART  III 

A  BIBLIOGRAPHY  OF  BOOKS  IN  PRINT 
RELATING  TO  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN 

BIOGRAPHIES  AND  REMINISCENCES 73 

LINCOLN'S  WORKS        84 

LINCOLN'S  STORIES  AND  EPIGRAMS 86 

RELIGION  OF  LINCOLN 88 

LECTURES,  ADDRESSES  AND  MISCELLANEOUS 90 

FICTION 94 

POETRY  AND  DRAMA 98 

JUVENILE 100 

TRIBUTES  TO  LINCOLN 104 

LINCOLN'S  BIRTHDAY  EXERCISES,  ETC 104 

SCHOOL  TEXT  BOOKS 106 


-4  $ 

JL  i 


PART    I 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN  AND 
HIS  BOOKS 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN  AND  HIS  BOOKS 


1.  THE  BOOKS  THAT  MADE  LINCOLN 

The  boyhood  home  of  Abraham  Lincoln  had 
a  library  of  six  books, — the  Bible,  Pilgrim's 
Progress,  ^Esop's  Fables,  Robinson  Crusoe, 
Weems'  Life  of  Washington,  and  a  History  of 
the  United  States.  It  was  an  almost  ideal 
collection  of  books  for  a  young  American.  We 
can  trace  the  influence  of  these  six  books  upon 
his  subsequent  career.  He  could  have  found 
no  nobler  examples  of  fine  and  pure  literary 
style  than  were  available  to  him  in  King  James* 
version  of  the  Bible,  in  John  Bunyan's  immortal 
allegory  and  in  De  Foe's  masterpiece.  The 
fables  of  JEsop  gave  color  to  his  inherent  love 
of  illustrative  argument.  Weems'  Life  of  Wash- 
ington, now  commonly  referred  to  in  terms  of 
mirth,  contained  nothing  that  seemed  to  him 
unworthy  of  his  country's  father,  even  the 
cherry-tree  story  having  its  justification  in  its 
own  generation  and  those  that  immediately 


8  ]  Abraham  Lincoln  and  His  Books 

followed  in  the  reverence  which  it  inculcated 
for  truth.  We  do  not  know  what  author  taught 
to  Abraham  Lincoln  the  history  of  his  own 
country.  The  book  was  probably  one  of  no 
great  literary  merit,  but  it  related  the  story  of 
Christopher  Columbus,  the  romance  of  coloniz- 
ation, the  struggles  which  led  to  liberty,  and 
the  notable  events  in  the  life  of  the  nation  down 
to  the  time,  perhaps,  of  the  inauguration  of 
President  James  Monroe. 

In  school,  he  had  become  familiar  with  Dill- 
worth's  Speller,  and  then  with  that  of  Noah 
Webster,  the  latter  being  more  than  a  spelling- 
book,  and  serving  many  pupils  in  backwoods 
schools  until  the  pupil  was  able  to  read  in  the 
Bible.  The  schools  which  he  attended,  three 
in  Kentucky  and  two  in  Indiana,  gave  to  him 
a  total  of  less  than  twelve  months  of  schooling. 
Lincoln  cannot  be  classed  with  George  Bernard 
Shaw,  amonsj  those  whose  education  was  inter- 
rupted by  their  schooling.  The  backwoods 
schools  which  Lincoln  attended  were  "blab- 
schools"  in  which  the  pupils  studied  their  lessons 
aloud,  the  teacher  moving  among  them  and 
encouraging  with  a  switch  those  who  did  not 
give  this  continuous  audible  evidence  that  they 
were  at  work. 


The  Books  that  Made  Lincoln  [  9 

Of  the  use  of  the  Bible  as  a  text-book,  the 
writer  has  personal  knowledge;  but  one  of  Mr. 
Lincoln's  stories  discloses  Lincoln's  own  memory 
of  it.  The  incident  comes  to  us  from  former  Vice- 
President  Adlai  E.  Stevenson,  to  whom  it  was 
related  by  Senator  Henderson  of  Missouri. 
Senator  Henderson  called  at  the  White  House 
one  day  some  months  before  the  issue  of  the 
Emancipation  Proclamation.  The  President 
was  in  one  of  his  moods  of  deepest  depression. 
He  told  Senator  Henderson  that  he  was  greatly 
troubled  by  the  question  of  the  freedom  of  the 
slaves,  and  was  under  great  pressure  from  the 
radical  proponents  of  abolition,  especially 
Charles  Sumner,  Henry  Wilson  and  Thaddeus 
Stevens.  Henderson,  being  from  a  border  state, 
was  concerned  for  the  effect  of  such  a  proclama- 
tion upon  the  loyal  people  of  those  states,  some 
of  whom  were  slave-holders. 

"Sumner  and  Stevens  and  Wilson  simply 
haunt  me,"  declared  Mr.  Lincoln.  "They  haunt 
me  with  their  importunities  for  a  proclamation 
of  emancipation.  Wherever  I  go,  and  whatever 
way  I  turn,  they  are  on  my  trail.  And  still  in 
my  heart  I  have  the  deep  conviction  that  the 
hour  has  not  yet  come." 

Senator  Henderson  said  that  as  Lincoln  said 


10  ]         Abraham  Lincoln  and  His  Books 

this  he  walked  to  the  window,  and  looked  out 
in  silence  upon  Pennsylvania  Avenue,  his  tall 
figure  silhouetted  against  the  window  pane,  his 
whole  pose,  and  every  line  of  the  profile  of  his 
gracious  face,  expressive  of  unutterable  sadness. 
Suddenly  his  lips  began  to  twich  into  a  smile, 
and  his  somber  eyes  lighted  up  with  mirth. 

"The  only  schooling  I  ever  had,  Henderson," 
he  said,  "was  in  a  log  schoolhouse  when  reading 
books  and  grammars  were  unknown.  All  our 
reading  was  done  from  the  Scriptures,  and  we 
stood  up  in  a  long  line  and  read  in  turn  from  the 
Bible.  Our  lesson  one  day  was  the  story  of  the 
faithful  Israelites  who  were  thrown  into  the  fiery 
furnace  and  delivered  by  the  hand  of  the  Lord 
without  so  much  as  the  smell  of  fire  upon 
their  garments.  It  fell  to  one  little  fellow  to 
read  the  verse  in  which  occurred,  for  the  first 
time,  the  names  of  Shadrach,  Meshach,  and 
Abed-nego. 

Little  Bud  stumbled  on  Shadrach,  floundered  on 
Meshach,  and  went  all  to  pieces  on  Abed-nego. 
Instantly  the  hand  of  the  master  dealt  him  a 
cuff  on  the  side  of  the  head  and  left  him,  wailing 
and  blubbering,  as  the  next  boy  in  line  took  up 
the  reading.  But  before  the  girl  at  the  end  of 
the  line  had  done  reading,  he  had  subsided  into 


The  Books  that  Made  Lincoln  [  11 

sniffles,  and  finally  became  quiet.  His  blunder 
and  disgrace  were  forgotten  by  the  class  until 
his  turn  was  approaching  to  read  again.  Then, 
like  a  thunder-clap  out  of  a  clear  sky,  he  set  up  a 
wail  that  alarmed  the  master,  who  with  rather 
unusual  gentleness  inquired,  "What's  the  matter 
now?" 

The  little  boy  pointed  with  shaking  finger  to 
the  verse  which  in  a  few  moments  he  would  be 
expected  to  read,  and  to  the1  three  proper  names 
which  it  contained, — 

"Look,  marster,"  he  cried,  "there  comes  them 
same  three  fellers  again !" 

Lincoln's  face  lighted  up  with  a  smile  as  he 
told  this  story,  and  he  beckoned  Senator 
Henderson  to  his  side,  and  silently  pointed  his 
finger  at  three  men  at  that  moment  crossing 
from  Pennsylvania  Avenue  over  the  White 
House  lawn  to  the  door  of  the  Executive  man- 
sion. They  were  Charles  Sumner,  Henry  Wilson 
and  Thaddeus  Stevens. 

This  is  a  good  story,  and  well  authenticated. 
It  has  its  present  value  for  us  in  the  record  it 
contains  of  the  use  of  the  Bible  as  a  book  for 
class  instruction  in  the  schools  which  Lincoln 
attended. 

It  seems  probable,  however,  that  near  the 


12  ]         Abraham  Lincoln  and  His  Books 

end  of  his  schooling  he  used  Lindley  Murray's 
"English  Reader,"  with  its  choice  collection  of 
prose  and  verse;  for  he  told  Herndon  that  he 
considered  that  volume  the  best  schoolbook 
ever  put  into  the  hands  of  American  youth. 
That  opinion  was  justified.  It  was  a  great 
book. 

At  New  Salem,  Lincoln  read  law,  and  had  his 
introduction  to  natural  history,  and  to  scientific 
subjects.  Herndon  relates  that  he  read  Rollin's 
Ancient  History  and  Gibbon's  Rome,  but  that 
he  did  not  greatly  enjoy  history.  I  have 
several  volumes  once  owned  by  him,  and  bearing 
the  firm  name  of  Lincoln  and  Herndon  in  his 
writing,  one  of  them  being  "Ancient  and  Modern 
History"  by  J.  E.  Worcester. 

Biography  interested  him,  but  he  did  not  like 
to  have  men  over-praised.  In  1856  Herndon 
purchased  a  "Life  of  Burke."  It  may  have  been 
Sir  James  Prior's  "Life,"  the  fifth  edition  of 
which  had  just  been  published  by  Bohn;  but 
Prof.  Daniel  Kilham  Dodge,  whose  booklet  on 
the  evolution  of  Lincoln's  literary  style  is  of 
great  value,  opines  that  it  was  P.  Burke's 
"Life  of  Burke,"  which  was  published  in  1851, 
and  which  the  Dictionary  of  National  Biog- 
raphy characterizes  as  "utterly  valueless." 


The  Books  that  Made  Lincoln  [  13 

Lincoln   so   regarded   it.     Herndon  tells   of  it 
thus: 

"In  1856  I  purchased  in  New  York  a  Life  of 
Edmund  Burke.  I  have  forgotten  who  the 
author  was.  One  morning  Lincoln  came  into 
the  office,  and,  seeing  the  book  in  my  hands, 
enquired  what  I  was  reading.  Taking  it  in  his 
hands,  he  threw  himself  down  on  the  office  sofa, 
and  hastily  ran  over  its  pages,  reading  a  little 
here  and  there.  At  last  he  closed  and  threw  it 
on  the  table  with  the  exclamation,  'No,  I've  read 
enough  of  it.  It's  like  all  the  others.  Biog- 
raphies as  generally  written  are  not  only  mis- 
leading, but  false.  The  author  of  this  Life  of 
Burke  makes  a  wonderful  hero  of  his  subject. 
He  magnifies  his  perfections,  if  he  had  any,  and 
suppresses  his  imperfections.  He  is  so  faithful 
in  his  zeal  and  so  lavish  in  praise  of  his  every  act 
that  one  is  almost  driven  to  believe  that  Burke 
never  made  a  mistake  or  a  failure  in  his  life. 
History  is  not  history  unless  it  is  the  truth." 

It  would  appear  that  Lincoln  was  not  inter- 
ested in  biography  which  was  indiscriminate 
eulogy;  but  that  he  cared  to  read  the  lives  of 
eminent  men  is  certain.  In  his  boyhood  he 
appears  to  have  read  Weems'  Life  of  Marion  as 
well  as  that  of  Washington,  and  also  to  have 


14  ]         Abraham  Lincoln  and  His  Books 

read  Franklin's  Autobiography,  and  later  the 
life  of  Henry  Clay.  He  did  not,  however,  read 
in  his  early  years  that  Who's  Who  of  classic 
heroes,  Plutarch's  Lives.  We  are  certain  of 
this,  because  when  John  Locke  Scripps  wrote 
the  first  biography  of  Lincoln,  he  stated  that 
this  was  among  the  books  which  Lincoln  had 
read.  Lincoln  told  him  that  this  statement  was 
not  true  when  it  was  written,  but  that  it  was 
true  before  the  book  was  published;  for  he  pro- 
cured Plutarch  and  read  his  great  work  in  order 
that  Mr.  Scripps'  book  might  be  true  in  every 
detail. 

As  to  the  list  of  books  which  Lincoln  read 
while  still  a  lad  in  Indiana,  the  statement  which 
he  made  to  Leonard  Swett  is  probably  no  great 
exaggeration,  that  he  borrowed  and  read  every 
book  he  could  learn  about  within  a  circuit  of 
fifty  miles.  Among  those  borrowed  volumes 
was  a  copy  of  the  Revised  Statutes  of  Indiana, 
the  beginning  of  his  reading  of  law. 

As  for  fiction,  he  read  almost  none  of  it.  A 
certain  Mrs.  Lee  Hentz  had  a  passing  vogue  as  a 
writer  of  fiction  when  he  was  a  young  man,  and 
he  liked  her  stories.  He  did  not  care  for  long 
stories;  he  preferred  those  that  could  be  read 
easily  at  a  sitting.  He  once  tried  to  read 


The  Books  that  Made  Lincoln  [  15 

Ivanhoe,  but  did  not  finish  it;  and  he  never  read 
either  Dickens  or  Bulwer.  He  said  to  Frank  B. 
Carpenter,  "It  may  seem  strange  to  say,  but 
I  never  read  an  entire  novel  in  my  life."  How- 
ever, he  dipped  into  several  of  them,  and  had 
some  general  knowledge  of  some  of  the  chief 
authors  of  English  fiction. 

While  he  was  at  New  Salem,  he  read  poetry,  and 
liked  it.  There  he  learned  to  admire  Shakespeare 
and  Byron  and  Burns.  He  could  not  sing,  but 
he  had  an  ear  for  rhythm,  and  more  than  once 
essayed  to  write  in  verse.  In  1844  he  returned 
to  Indiana,  which  he  had  not  revisited  since  his 
boyhood,  and  made  several  speeches  in  favor  of 
Henry  Clay.  More  than  a  year  later,  on  April  18, 
1846,  he  sent  to  a  friend  some  lines  which  that 
visit  evoked,  beginning: 

"My  childhood's  home  I  see  again, 

And  sadden  with  the  view; 
And  still,  as  memory  crowds  my  brain, 

There's  pleasure  in  it,  too." 

There  were  ten  stanzas,  to  which  he  added,  a 
few  months  later,  eleven  others,  suggested  by 
the  same  visit,  and  by  the  pathetic  sight  of  a  boy- 
hood friend  who  had  lost  his  mind  and  become 
violently  insane.  These  twenty-one  stanzas  are 


16  ]         Abraham  Lincoln  and  His  Books 

preserved.  They  have  no  great  literary  merit, 
but  show  that  he  had  a  good  sense  of  rhythm, 
and  some  poetic  gift  of  imagery.  He  had  read 
poetry  enough  to  know  what  poetry  was  or 
should  be.  His  taste  in  poetry,  however,  never 
was  exalted.  He  preferred  poems  whose  meter 
made  it  easy  to  remember  them,  and  he  had  a 
remarkably  good  memory;  and  sad  poems  were 
more  to  his  liking  than  those  that  were  gay, 
In  his  boyhood  he  wrote  backwoods  jingles,  and 
sang  in  mournful  cadence  "How  tedious  and 
tasteless  the  hours."  In  early  manhood  he 
committed  to  memory  and  retained  through  life 
as  his  favorite  poem  that  mournful  homily, 
"Oh,  why  should  the  spirit  of  mortal  be 
proud?" 

The  dactylic  meter  belongs  to  subjects  light 
and  gay,  though  classic  poetry  used  it  in  the 
heroic  hexameter;  but  the  backwoods  found 
means  of  compelling  it  to  go  sadly,  as  in  the 
hymn  and  poem  of  which  we  are  speaking,  as 
if  to  constrain  the  waltz  to  clothe  itself  in  a 
shroud.  Lincoln  liked  poems  which  moved 
mournfully  in  triple  time.  Of  contemporary 
poets  he  knew  something  of  Longfellow  and 
Whittier,  though  he  is  not  known  to  have  quoted 
the  latter,  and  he  greatly  admired  "The  Last 


The  Books  that  Made  Lincoln  [  17 

Leaf"  by  Oliver  Wendell  Holmes.     There  were 
no  lines  which  he  admired  more  than, — 

"The  mossy  marbles  rest 

On  the  lips  that  he  has  pressed, 

In  their  bloom; 

And  the  names  he  loved  to  hear 
Have  been  carved  for  many  a  year 

On  the  tomb." 

Lincoln  did  not  continue  to  be  a  voracious 
reader.  Herndon  said  of  him  that  he  read  less 
and  thought  more  than  any  other  man  in  public 
life  in  his  generation.  But  he  accumulated  a 
fairly  good  library,  partly  by  purchase  and  more 
by  natural  accretion,  and  he  had  access  to 
the  exceptionally  good  library  of  his  partner, 
Herndon. 

About  1844  Lincoln  read  "Vestiges  of  the 
Natural  History  of  Creation,"  published  anony- 
mously, but  now  known  to  have  been  written 
by  Robert  Chambers,  of  the  noted  Scotch  pub- 
lishing house.  It  introduced  him  to  geology, 
increased  his  knowledge  of  astronomy,  taught 
him  the  rudiments  of  comparative  anatomy  and 
embryology,  and  gave  him  the  basis  of  his 
belief  in  "miracles  under  law,"  or  a  system  of 
creation  in  essential  accord  with  what  we  now 
call  evolution. 


18  ]         Abraham  Lincoln  and  His  Books 

In  1850,  he  read  with  profound  appreciation  a 
book  on  the  evidences  of  Christianity,  entitled 
"The  Christian's  Defense,"  and  it  wrought  great 
changes  in  his  theory  of  the  relation  of  the 
human  to  the  Divine.  As  late  as  1859  he  pro- 
cured and  read  Paley's  Natural  Theology.  In 
another  place  I  have  set  forth  the  significance  of 
these  books  for  him.  In  this  same  period  also 
he  read  William  Ellery  Channing's  sermons  in 
part,  and  some  of  the  writings  of  Theodore 
Parker;  which,  without  converting  him  wholly 
to  the  theories  of  those  men,  were  influential  in 
widening  his  intellectual  and  spiritual  horizon.* 

Among  Lincoln's  books  were  several  works  of 
humor.  He  enjoyed  Artemus  Ward.  He  read 
Petroleum  V.  Nasby  with  great  enjoyment. 
He  owned  and  diligently  perused  "Joe  Miller's 
Joke  Book,'*  and  remembered  the  stories  which 
it  contained.  A  copy  of  this  volume  was  found 
in  the  drawer  of  his  desk  after  his  death,  in 
close  juxtaposition  with  important  state  papers. 

But  it  deserves  to  be  remembered  that  while 
Lincoln  told  stories  hi  personal  argument  and 
in  jury  trials,  he  almost  never  told  a  story  in  one 
of  his  formal  addresses.  His  published  speeches 

*See  "The  Soul  of  Abraham  Lincoln,"  by  William  E.  Barton; 
chapters  XHI^XIV.  XV. 


The  Books  that  Made  Lincoln  [  19 

may  be  searched  from  end  to  end  with  very 
meager  gleanings  in  the  field  of  narrative.  It  is 
surprising  to  discover  how  few  stories  are  to  be 
obtained  from  Lincoln's  authentic  writings  and 
how  many  from  reminiscences  of  conversations 
with  him.  He  knew  well  in  what  forms  of  dis- 
course his  homely  illustrations  would  add  weight 
to  his  argument,  and  when,  in  the  interests  of 
good  taste  or  more  solid  and  cogent  reasoning 
it  was  better  to  omit  them. 


II.  THE  BOOKS  THAT  LINCOLN  MADE 

So  much  for  the  books  which  helped  to  make 
Lincoln;  let  us  consider  now  the  books  which 
Lincoln  helped  to  make. 

Lincoln  never  wrote  a  book.  J.  McCann 
Davis  reproduced  in  fac-simile  the  one  book 
that  might  be  called  Lincoln's,  being  a  series 
of  newspaper  clippings  from  his  speeches  on 
slavery,  with  annotations  in  his  handwriting, 
arranged  in  a  small  blank  book  as  an  exposition 
of  his  authorized  utterances  on  that  subject. 
He  edited  from  newspaper  reports  for  publica- 
tion in  book  form  his  part  in  the  Lincoln- 
Douglas  debates.  I  have  seen  the  original 
sheets  which  he  used,  and  it  is  notable  that  he 
did  not  change  phraseology  that  he  might 
possibly  have  wished  to  have  modified  slightly, 
and  that  he  quite  generally  cut  out  the  words 
"Laughter"  and  "Applause"  with  which  the 
favorable  press  reports  sprinkled  the  record  of 
his  addresses. 

Lincoln  liked  to  see  his  own  addresses  in 
print.  Some  of  his  biographers,  notably  Lamon, 

20 


The  Books  that  Lincoln  Made  [  81 

comment  on  this  fact  with  apparent  desire  to 
criticize  him  for  it.  But  his  editing  of  his 
addresses  for  publication,  as  it  has  fallen  under 
the  eye  of  the  present  writer,  is  strikingly 
modest. 

Altogether  the  published  addresses,  state 
papers  and  correspondence  of  Lincoln  make 
several  thick  volumes,  two  in  one  edition,  eight 
in  another  and  twelve  in  another.  Beside 
these  are  one  or  two  supplementary  volumes  of 
his  otherwise  uncollected  writings.  He  was, 
therefore,  an  author  of  considerable  fecundity. 
He  was  also  a  writer  whose  literary  style  under- 
went a  remarkable  and  most  interesting  evolu- 
tion. The  little  book  of  Prof.  Dodge  has 
already  been  referred  to;  a  valuable  little 
volume  by  Prof.  Luther  E.  Robinson  as  "Lin- 
coln as  a  Man  of  Letters"  may  also  be  cited. 

Books  compiled  from  the  writings  of  Lincoln 
began  to  appear  almost  as  soon  as  he  was  dead. 
The  first  of  these  began  to  be  compiled  within  a 
few  days  after  the  assassination.  The  American 
News  Company  received  on  April  18,  1865,  a 
letter  saying: 

"You  have  it  in  your  power  to  erect  a  monu- 
ment of  its  own  kind  to  the  memory  of  the 
President.  Collect  and  publish,  in  the  speediest 


22  ]         Abraham  Lincoln  and  His  Books 

possible  manner,  the  inaugural  and  other  ad- 
dresses of  Abraham  Lincoln,  his  proclamations, 
messages  and  public  letters,  indeed  all  that  he 
has  written  as  President,  and  you  will  con- 
tribute to  the  mournful  celebrations  of  the 
American  people  your  share  of  lasting  value, 
and  of  far  more  impressive  eloquence  than  the 
most  fervent  orator  could  utter." 

The  publishers  acted  instantly  on  the  sug- 
gestion, and  prepared  a  volume  of  297  pages, 
which  was  entitled  "The  Martyr's  Monument." 
It  was  followed  a  few  weeks  or  months  later  by 
a  smaller  volume  of  selections,  entitled  "Presi- 
dent Lincoln  Self-  Port  rayed"  compiled  by  John 
Malcolm  Ludlow,  the  proceeds  of  which  were 
used  for  the  freedmen,  and  this  by  a  well  selected 
group  of  Lincoln's  writings  entitled  "The  Presi- 
dent's Words."  The  title  page  bears  no  name 
of  compiler,  but  it  is  known  that  this  selection 
was  made  and  edited  by  Edward  Everett  Hale. 

These  were  followed  by  larger  and  yet  larger 
collections  of  the  writings  of  Lincoln  until 
Nicolay  and  Hay  published  their  supposedly 
exhaustive  work,  and  other  diligent  compilers 
added  other  and  valuable  sets  of  the  "complete" 
writings  of  Lincoln.  All  "complete"  sets,  how- 
ever, have  need  to  be  supplemented. 


The  Books  that  Lincoln  Made  [  23 

It  must  not  be  supposed  that  at  the  time  of 
Lincoln's  death  the  nation  held  any  such  view 
of  the  beauty  of  Lincoln's  writings  as  now  ob- 
tains. His  wonderfully  lucid  and  pure  style 
had  only  begun  to  impress  the  mind  of  the  read- 
ing public.  Even  the  Gettysburg  address  came 
somewhat  slowly  to  recognition.  At  the  time 
many  were  disappointed  in  it.  At  least  one 
New  York  paper  spoke  slightingly  of  it.  The 
"Patriot  and  Union"  of  Harrisburg  spoke  what 
many  felt: — 

"The  President  succeeded  on  this  occasion 
because  he  acted  without  sense  and  without 
constraint  in  a  panorama  that  was  gotten  up 
more  for  the  benefit  of  the  party  than  for  the 
glory  of  the  nation  and  the  honor  of  the  dead. 
We  pass  over  the  silly  remarks  of  the  President; 
for  the  credit  of  the  nation  we  are  willing  that 
the  veil  of  oblivion  shall  de  dropped  over  them 
and  that  they  shall  no  more  be  repeated  or 
thought  of." 

They  have  been  repeated,  however,  and  will 
be  repeated  and  thought  of,  as  long  as  the 
English  language  endures. 

Quotations  such  as  this  remind  us  that  in  the 
thought  of  very  many,  including  some  members 
of  the  committee  of  invitation,  the  President 


24  ]         Abraham  Lincoln  and  His  Books 

intruded  himself  upon  an  occasion  where  he  was 
unwelcome,  and  where  his  appearance  was  in 
bad  taste,  using  the  occasion  with  a  view  to  its 
effect  upon  the  approaching  political  conven- 
tion. It  was  a  cruel  and  unjust  judgment,  but  it 
colored  the  impression  which  not  a  few  editors 
had  when  they  commented  upon  Lincoln's  im- 
mortal address  at  Gettysburg.  To  them  it  was 
not  a  masterpiece  in  language,  in  oratory  and  in 
nobility  of  sentiment,  but  a  commonplace  and 
vapid  performance  intended  to  advertise  the 
fact  that  Abraham  Lincoln  was  a  candidate  for 
reelection. 

Perhaps  we  should  count  among  the  books 
which  Lincoln  helped  to  make,  the  campaign 
attacks  upon  him.  They  were  numerous,  and 
are  at  this  day  among  the  most  interesting  items 
for  collectors. 

Perhaps  the  most  dignified  and  logical  of  these 
documents  were  those  issued  by  "The  Society 
for  the  Diffusion  of  Political  Knowledge."  This 
was  organized  at  Delmonico's  on  February  6, 
1864,  and  was  composed  of  the  silk-stockinged 
opponents  of  Lincoln.  The  President  was  Prof. 
Samuel  F.  B.  Morse,  inventor  of  the  telegraph, 
and  among  its  members  were  many  able 
and  prominent  men.  "The  fanatic  is  on  the 


The  Books  that  Lincoln  Made  [  %5 

throne,"  said  Prof.  Morse  in  his  speech  of 
acceptance  of  the  presidency,  and  he  inveighed 
against  the  ursurpation  of  the  throne,  or  perhaps 
we  should  say  the  conversion  of  the  presidential 
chair  into  a  throne;  and  he  was  nowhere  more 
emphatic  than  in  denouncing  those  ministers  of 
the  gospel  who  praised  Lincoln  from  the  pulpit, 
and  in  his  rejoicing  that  there  still  were  in  the 
pulpit  of  the  North  some  who  had  not  bowed 
the  knee  to  Baal. 

The  McClellan  Club  of  Philadelphia  issued 
some  documents,  though  not  as  many  as  Prof. 
Morse's  society,  attempting  to  show  that  the 
American  people  w^ere  "being  reduced  to  mere 
serfs  to  a  despot  tyrant." 

A  New  York  publishing  house  issued  a  well 
written  pamphlet  showing  that  Mr.  Lincoln  was 
engaged  with  the  Republican  party  in  "a  con- 
spiracy to  destroy  the  American  Union"  and 
erect  a  monarchy. 

These  booklets  lie  before  me  as  I  write,  and 
also  others  entitled  "Shall  America  Be  Ruled  by 
a  Monarch  or  by  the  People"?  "The  United 
States  Converted  Into  a  Military  Despotism," 
"Grounds  for  the  Impeachment  of  the  Presi- 
dent," "The  Trial  of  Abraham  Lincoln  by  the 
Great  Statesmen  of  the  Republic,"  a  trial  which 


26  ]         Abraham  Lincoln  and  His  Books 

resulted,  in  the  booklet,  in  his  condemnation  for 
despotism  and  cruelty  and  violation  of  the 
Constitution,  demanding  his  impeachment,  and 
consigning  him  to  eternal  disgrace. 

We  have  no  present  occasion  to  dwell  upon 
these  documents.  America  has  never  had  a 
great  man  in  public  life  who  was  not  shamefully 
abused  while  he  was  living  and  almost  as  shame- 
fully eulogized  after  he  was  dead.  But  our 
present  interest  is  not  political  or  biographical, 
but  bibliographical;  and  we  mention  these  mat- 
ters as  things  of  interest  to  the  book  lover. 
They  add  very  interesting  items  to  the  collection 
of  any  man  who  is  inclined  to  seek  for  them;  and 
they  are  not  without  value  to  those,  if  there  be 
such  among  us,  who  would  learn  to  value  our 
great  men  while  they  still  are  living. 


III.  BOOKS  ABOUT  LINCOLN 

It  is  when  we  come  to  books  about  Lincoln 
that  our  subject  overflows  all  its  banks,  and 
inundates  the  lands  adjacent  to  our  theme. 
This  man  who  read  few  books  and  wrote  none 
inspired  more  volumes  than  any  other  American; 
more  than  any  other  character  in  modern  times. 
Not  even  Napoleon  has  a  richer  bibliography. 

The  first  books  about  Abraham  Lincoln  ap- 
peared in  1860,  very  shortly  after  his  nomina- 
tion. Lincoln  was  nominated  May  18,  1860; 
Scripps'  Life  of  Lincoln  was  published  on  June  3. 
For  this  little  book,  Lincoln  himself  furnished 
the  autobiographical  sketch.  A  year  before  he 
had  prepared  for  Jesse  W.  Fell  of  Bloomington, 
in  the  third  person,  a  short  biographical  outline, 
written  on  three  pages  of  note  paper.  It  has 
been  reproduced  in  fac-simile  by  the  daughters 
of  Mr.  Fell,  who  live  at  Normal,  and  it  shows 
Lincoln's  first  effort  to  put  the  events  of  his 
life  into  a  form  that  could  be  read,  and  possibly 
printed  in  a  newspaper  sketch. 

When  in  1860  Mr.  Scripps  visited  him,  just 

27 


28  ]         Abraham  Lincoln  and  His  Books 

after  the  Chicago  convention,  Mr.  Lincoln  depre- 
cated any  attempt  to  write  anything  so  pre- 
tentious as  a  campaign  biography,  saying  that 
neither  Scripps  nor  any  other  man  could  make 
anything  out  of  Lincoln's  life  except  what  was 
contained  in  a  single  line  of  Gray's  Elegy: — 
"The  short  and  simple  annals  of  the  poor." 
But  he  prepared  a  sketch,  rather  longer  than 
that  which  he  had  written  for  Fell,  and  out  of 
it,  with  such  added  material  as  he  could  com- 
mand, Scripps  made  a  pamphlet  of  thirty-two 
double-column  octavo  pages.  The  little  book- 
let sold  for  four  cents,  or  at  twenty  dollars  a 
thousand,  and  it  sold  by  the  thousand.  Perfect 
copies  are  now  difficult  to  obtain,  and  have  been 
sold  at  a  hundred  dollars  or  more.  This  book, 
for  which  Lincoln  furnished  the  basic  material, 
'  and  of  which  Lincoln  read  the  proofs,  must  ever 

ti0^         be    of    prime    interest    among    biographies    of 
0*          Lincoln. 

_  But  it  is  doubtful  if  this  was  the  first  pub- 

lished biography  of  Lincoln.  "The  Wigwam 
Edition"  was  off  the  press  as  soon  as,  if  not  sooner 
than,  Scripps'  "Life."  It  had  no  author's  name 
on  its  title  page,  and  it  did  not  stop  the  press 
for  any  authentic  information.  It  spelled 
Abraham  "Abram"  and  it  invented  the  story 


Books  About  Lincoln  [  29 

of  Lincoln's  boyhood,  making  him  the  eldest  of  a 
large  family  and  the  support  and  stay  of  his 
widowed  mother  after  the  death  of  his  father, 
and  contained  other  and  grave  errors.  It  sold 
for  twenty-five  cents,  and  it  had  a  marked  in- 
fluence in  making  Lincoln  a  popular  hero. 

William  Dean  Ho  wells  made  his  advent  into 
literature  about  this  time,  and  he  wrote  a 
campaign  biography  of  Lincoln;  and  a  Boston 
firm  published  "The  Wideawake  Edition"  of 
Lincoln's  life.  A  Cincinnati  firm  published  a 
campaign  biography  by  J.  H.  Barrett,  and  a 
New  York  firm  another  by  D.  W.  Bartlett.  All 
these  were  cloth  bound  volumes,  but  the 
biographical  data  was  meager;  the  books  were 
made  up  largely  of  Lincoln's  speeches,  and  had 
short  sketches  of  Lincoln's  running-mate,  Han- 
nibal Hamlin  of  Maine.  All  in  all  they  serve 
to  impress  the  modern  reader  with  the  paucity 
of  the  information  available  concerning  Lincoln 
at  the  time  when  he  became  a  candidate  for  the 
presidency. 

There  was  little  improvement  in  the  campaign 
biographies  of  1864.  There  are  several  of  them, 
and  they  add  little  if  any  biographical  informa- 
tion, but  extend  the  subject  matter  in  the  1860 
books  with  material  about  the  Civil  War. 


30  ]         Abraham  Lincoln  and  His  Books 

Immediately  after  Lincoln's  death,  the  presses 
were  at  work,  printing  "Complete"  lives  of 
Lincoln.  The  first  of  these  were  made  from  the 
plates  or  type  of  the  1864  biographies,  with 
pages  added  telling  of  his  assassination,  his 
funeral,  the  trial  of  the  assassins,  the  pursuit 
of  Booth,  and  so  on.  The  first  part  of  these 
books  speaks  of  him  as  still  living.  I  have  one 
of  these  volumes  in  five  editions,  showing  its 
evolution  from  an  1864  campaign  biography  into 
a  "Complete  Life"  of  Lincoln.  The  changes 
show  considerable  ingenuity,  but  no  great 
literary  merit. 

There  is  one  little  book  of  this  character  which 
deserves  special  mention.  Of  it  I  have  seen 
only  a  single  copy,  which  I  own.  It  is  entitled 
"Beadle's  Dime  Life  of  Lincoln."  It  was  pre- 
pared in  1864  by  J.  O.  Victor,  and  after  the 
death  of  Lincoln  was  issued  in  a  new  edition 
with  a  brief  preface  instead  of  supplement,  tell- 
ing of  Lincoln's  death.  This  little  book  was 
the  one  which  Lincoln's  cousins  could  afford, 
and  which  Dennis  Hanks  possessed  and  read  and 
found  to  contain  some  things  true  and  other 
things  false.  It  is  the  only  volume  about 
Lincoln  which  we  know  any  relative  of  Lincoln 
read  at  the  time,  with  one  single  exception. 


Books  About  Lincoln  [  31 

The  exception  is  the  first  Boy's  Life  of^Lincoln, 
entitled  "The  Pioneer  Boy,"  by  William  M. 
Thayer.  Robert  Lincoln  read  this  and  wrote  a 
letter  of  commendation,  in  which  he  virtually 
said  that  it  was  in  essential  accord  with  what  he 
had  heard  from  his  father.  Robert  was  away  at 
school  when  he  wrote  this,  and  it  is  possible  that 
the  publishers  sent  some  one  over  to  Cambridge 
to  get  this  testimonial  from  him.  There  they 
should  have  stopped.  But  they  had  a  copy  of 
the  book  specially  bound  and  sent  it  to  Mr. 
Lincoln  in  1863.  This  copy,  presented  to  the 
President,  is  in  a  private  collection  in  Chicago, 
owned  by  Mr.  Oliver  R.  Barrett.  Across  the 
title-page,  under  the  name  of  the  author,  has 
been  written  in  pencil,  apparently  by  some 
member  of  the  President's  family,  this  un- 
complimentary designation  of  the  author,  "The 
champion  liar  of  history." 

I  do  not  think  it  was  Mr.  Lincoln  who  wrote 
this  line;  had  he  lived,  he  would  have  found 
other  books  about  himself  more  completely 
worthy  of  this  comment. 

How  many  Lives  of  himself  Mr.  Lincoln  read 
is  not  known.  Apparently  he  regarded  the 
campaign  biographies  of  1860  and  1864  as 
instruments,  necessary  to  an  important  end, 


32  ]         Abraham  Lincoln  and  His  Books 

and  otherwise  of  no  great  consequence.  He 
might  have  modified  the  affirmation  which  the 
spirit  of  Thaddeus  Stevens  is  alleged  to  have 
rapped  out  to  Mr.  Dickey,  the  Member  of 
Congress  who  had  in  charge  the  memorial 
service,  and  who  was  troubled  because  more 
senators  and  representatives  wanted  to  speak 
than  could  be  crowded  into  the  program. 
Having  inquired  their  names,  and  learned  that 
the  list  included  many  of  his  old  time  opponents 
as  well  as  his  friends  and  those  who  had  been 
closely  associated  with  him,  the  spirit  of  the 
doughty  old  fighter  is  alleged  to  have  said: — 

"Since  I  don't  have  to  listen  to  the  speeches, 
I  don't  care  a  rap  who  delivers  them." 

Lincoln  did  not  have  to  read  all  these  books. 

The  literature  which  followed  the  death  of 
Lincoln  was  not  wholly  biographical.  The  Sun- 
day following  the  death  of  Lincoln  was  devoted 
in  hundreds  of  pulpits  to  discourses  upon  his 
character  and  the  lessons  of  his  life  and  death. 
In  many  cities  special  services  were  held,  then, 
and  on  May  20,  the  day  of  his  burial.  The 
discourses  delivered  at  these  services,  hastily 
prepared,  were  nevertheless  earnest  and  timely, 
and  in  many  cases  were  printed.  These  have 
become  rare  items  for  the  collector,  who  has  an 


Books  About  Lincoln  [  33 

endless  task  before  him  if  he  attempts  to  secure 
anything  like  a  complete  list.  Beside  the  lesser 
addresses  were  formal  orations  by  George  Ban- 
croft, Charles  Sumner,  Schuyler  Colfax  and 
others,  orations  which  have  a  permanent  place 
in  literature. 

Then  came  collections  of  his  writings,  col- 
lections of  poems  about  him,  one  of  the  latter 
published  by  Lippincott  as  early  as  1865,  and 
others  following  in  reasonably  swift  succession. 
The  number  of  Lincoln  anthologies  is  not  small, 
and  some  of  the  more  recent  ones  have  been  of 
the  best. 

Books  of  Lincoln  stories  began  in  time  to 
issue.  Many  stories  were  told  while  Lincoln 
was  alive  which  claimed  him  as  then*  author. 
I  have  Judge  Arnold's  own  copy  of  one  of  the 
earlier  collections  of  alleged  Lincoln  Stories. 
It  bears  upon  its  fly-leaf  the  penciled  comment 
of  that  competent  biographer  and  friend  of 
Lincoln  to  the  effect  that  "About  half  of  these 
stories  are  authentic,  and  most  of  them  badly 
told."  But  books  of  Lincoln  jokes  continue  to 
escape  the  press;  though  it  would  appear  that 
there  could  be  no  large  source  of  unexplored 
material  for  works  of  this  character. 

Soon  after  Lincoln's  death,  biographies  began 


34  ]         Abraham  Lincoln  and  His  Books 

to  appear  which  were  not  revamped  campaign 
documents,  but  which  undertook  in  the  light 
of  such  knowledge  as  was  then  available  to 
trace  the  career  of  Abraham  Lincoln  from  the 
cradle  to  the  grave.  Mrs.  Phoebe  A.  Hanaford 
produced  such  a  book,  the  first  biography  of 
Lincoln  to  be  written  by  a  woman.  Frank  A. 
Crosby  of  the  Philadelphia  bar  wrote  one. 
J.  H.  Barrett  and  H.  J.  Raymond  rewrote  their 
campaign  biographies;  and  the  latter  appended 
to  his  work  the  first  really  valuable  collection 
of  Lincoln's  state  papers.  Dr.  L.  P.  Brockett, 
a  physician,  wrote  another,  which  contains  some 
evidence  of  original  investigation.  But  the 
most  notable,  and  by  far  the  most  valuable, 
of  the  1865  biographies,  was  that  by  Josiah  G. 
Holland,  who  also  began  life  as  a  physician, 
but  whose  career  was  in  literature,  as  historian 
and  novelist,  and  who  was  for  many  years  editor 
of  the  Springfield  Republican  and  afterward  of 
Scribner's  Magazine. 

Meantime,  there  was  in  preparation  a  body  of 
material  which  emerged  in  two  notable  books. 
William  H.  Herndon  of  Springfield  was  for  many 
years  and  until  the  death  of  Lincoln,  law-partner 
of  Abraham  Lincoln.  The  sign  "Lincoln  and 
Herndon"  was  not  taken  down  even  when 


Books  About  Lincoln  [  35 

Lincoln  went  to  Washington;  and  the  partner- 
ship was  not  formally  dissolved  until  death 
ended  it.  Herndon  had  taken  notes  of  Lincoln, 
his  personal  appearance,  his  habits,  his  dress, 
his  moods,  his  domestic  and  political  affairs,  and 
much  beside.  After  Lincoln's  death  he  visited 
Lincoln's  step-mother  and  surviving  relatives, 
and  procured  from  them  statements  about 
Lincoln.  He  also  visited  Kentucky,  and  col- 
lected a  large  and  valuable  body  of  material. 
But  his  plan  to  make  a  book  of  this  was  post- 
poned for  reasons  which  are  sufficiently  known 
and  need  not  here  be  repeated,  till  Herndon  lost 
heart;  and,  being  in  financial  distress,  sold  for 
$2,000,  copies  of  his  Lincoln  manuscripts  to 
Col.  Ward  Hill  Lamon.  Lamon  was  a  Virgin- 
ian, who  had  lived  at  Danville,  Illinois,  where 
he  was  Lincoln's  associate,  and  was  often  spoken 
of  as  his  local  partner,  in  the  trial  of  cases  in 
court.  Lincoln  appointed  him  Marshal  of  the 
District  of  Columbia.  After  Lincoln's  death  he 
formed  a  partnership  with  Jeremiah  S.  Black, 
who  had  been  Attorney  General  in  the  Cabinet 
of  Buchanan,  and  counsel  for  Andrew  Johnson 
on  his  trial  on  impeachment.  Black's  son, 
Chauncey  F.  Black,  who  in  1885  edited  his 
father's  writings  and  wrote  a  biographical 


36  ]         Abraham  Lincoln  and  His  Books 

preface  to  them,  had  considerable  literary  skill, 
and  no  love  for  Lincoln.  He  assisted  Lamon, 
and,  as  Herndon  later  affirmed,  wrote  "quite 
every  word"  of  Lamon's  Life  of  Lincoln,  which 
was  published  in  1872,  and  brought  the  narrative 
down  to  the  time  of  his  first  inauguration. 

The  result  was  a  surprise  and  shock.  Lamon's 
book  evoked  the  most  vehement  denunciations 
against  Lamon,  Black  and  Herndon.  The  pub- 
lishers lost  money;  Lamon  lost  both  money  and 
prestige;  and  there  was  a  three-cornered  quarrel 
over  material  which  Black  had  insisted  on  pub- 
lishing and  which  Lamon  and  the  publishers 
rejected,  relative  to  the  close  of  Buchanan's 
administration  and  other  matters.  The  book 
did  not  sell;  and  the  bulk  of  the  edition  dis- 
appeared so  mysteriously  that  it  is  charged  that 
friends  and  perhaps  relatives  of  Lincoln  bought 
and  destroyed  such  copies  as  they  were  able  to 
procure. 

Unfrightened  by  the  reception  of  Lamon's 
book,  Herndon  himself  essayed  the  task  of 
writing  a  biography  of  Lincoln.  Assisted  by 
Jesse  W.  Weik,  of  Greencastle,  Indiana,  he 
published  in  three  volumes  his  Life  of  Lincoln, 
which  appeared  in  1889.  The  storm  that  had 
beat  upon  the  head  of  Lamon  was  a  mere  sum- 


Books  About  Lincoln  [  37 

mer  shower  compared  with  the  tempest  which 
descended  upon  Herndon.  His  publishers  failed, 
and  his  book  became  difficult  to  obtain.  The 
reasons  for  the  criticism  heaped  upon  it  and 
its  author  need  not  here  be  discussed.  It  is  a 
book  which  every  collector  desires,  and  that  in 
the  first  edition.  If  he  is  able  to  procure  it  for 
less  than  fifty  dollars  for  the  three  volumes, 
he  does  well;  it  is  practically  certain  that 
it  will  sell  before  many  years  for  at  least  a 
hundred. 

Another  edition  of  this  work,  in  two  volumes, 
and  with  some  omissions  and  modifications,  and 
a  new  Introduction  by  Horace  White,  was  issued 
by  Appletons,  and  is  still  on  sale.  For  all  pur- 
poses except  those  of  the  collector  and  the 
author  this  edition  is  as  good  as  the  expensive 
one. 

Two  of  Lincoln's  secretaries,  John  G.  Nicolay 
and  John  Hay,  prepared  and  issued  a  work  in 
ten  volumes,  entitled,  "Abraham  Lincoln:  A 
History."  It  first  ran  in  the  Century  Magazine, 
and  appeared  in  book  form  in  1890.  It  is  a 
mine  of  information,  invaluable  to  all  who 
would  follow  the  career  of  Lincoln  into  its 
details,  but  it  is  a  history  rather  than  a  biog- 
raphy. 


38  ]         Abraham  Lincoln  and  His  Books 

In  the  same  year  appeared  "The  Life  of 
Abraham  Lincoln"  by  Ida  M.  Tarbell,  which  had 
been  running  as  a  serial  in  McClure's  Magazine. 
It  is  a  picturesque,  well  illustrated  work,  and 
generally  reliable.  It  is  easily  the  first  among 
works  which  may  be  held  to  portray  the  maga- 
zine Lincoln. 

The  American  Statesman  Series  is  a  valuable 
series  throughout.  Its  general  editor,  John  T. 
Morse,  Jr.,  reserved  to  himself  the  writing  of 
the  two  volumes  on  Lincoln.  It  is  a  good  piece 
of  biographical  work,  though  somewhat  cold 
and  academic. 

The  Centennary  of  Abraham  Lincoln,  in  1909, 
saw  the  publication  of  innumerable  works  re- 
lating to  the  great  President.  They  need  not  be 
named  here,  for  this  is  no  attempt  to  give  a 
complete  list  of  books  about  Lincoln,  and  most 
of  those  that  appeared  in  that  and  subsequent 
years  are  still  in  print  or  easily  obtainable.  All 
that  this  sketch  undertakes  is  to  indicate  the 
stages  of  growth  of  the  Lincoln  literature. 

There  have  been  and  are  innumerable  anthol- 
ogies, collections,  and  monographs  on  various 
aspects  of  the  career  of  Lincoln,  some  of  them 
of  very  considerable  value,  and  all  of  them  of 
interest.  Every  anniversary  of  Lincoln's  birth 


Books  About  Lincoln  [  39 

sees  the  publication  of  addresses,  some  of  which 
take  their  place  among  Lincoln  works  of  value. 

This  sketch  does  not  attempt  to  name  all, 
even  of  the  important  books  about  Lincoln.  It 
endeavors  rather  to  indicate  the  main  lines  along 
which  the  evolution  of  Lincoln  literature  has 
developed,  and  something  of  the  relation  of  the 
successive  developments  to  each  other. 

It  is  most  gratifying  to  all  true  Americans  to 
discover  how  within  recent  years  the  name  of 
Abraham  Lincoln  has  come  into  honor  in 
England.  He  cannot  be  said  to  have  been  held 
in  adequate  reverence  there  during  his  lifetime. 
The  London  Punch  held  him  up  to  constant 
ridicule,  and  atoned  for  having  so  done  in  a 
poem  which  was  one  of  the  notable  tributes  to 
Lincoln  after  his  death.  In  1907  Henry  Bryan 
Binns  wrote  what  is  considered  the  first  English 
Life  of  Lincoln.  It  is  a  scrappy  and  un- 
balanced book,  but  written  in  a  good  spirit,  and 
not  without  its  value.  It  was  not,  however, 
the  first  Life  of  Lincoln  published  in  Great 
Britain.  That  honor  belongs  to  G.  W.  Bacon, 
who,  in  1865,  published  in  London  a  little 
volume  based  on  Victor's  dime  biography  in 
the  Beadle  series,  with  some  material  gathered 
from  Barrett  and  Raymond. 


40  ]         Abraham  Lincoln  and  His  Books 

A  small  and  appreciative  but  not  highly 
valuable  Life  of  Lincoln  has  recently  been  pub- 
lished with  Hon.  Ralph  Shirley  as  its  author. 
An  American  edition  has  been  issued  and  is  on 
the  market. 

But  far  the  most  notable  and  valuable  of 
English  works  on  Lincoln  is  that  of  Lord 
Charnwood.  While  he  makes  many  mistakes, 
he  has  given  us  a  work  of  genuine  value.  In 
some  things  he  has  been  able  to  see  American 
life  with  sufficient  detachment  and  clarity  to 
justify  him  in  a  discriminating  and  critical, 
and  at  the  same  time  thoroughly  appreciative, 
judgment.  One  can  make  no  mistake  in  buying 
and  reading  Charnwood,  even  though  he  must 
make  allowances  for  certain  limitations  in  the 
work  of  an  author  who  does  not  know  American 
life  thoroughly. 

To  Charnwood  we  are  indebted  for  the  sug- 
gestion of  John  Drinkwater's  play,  "Abraham 
Lincoln,"  just  now  enjoying  a  rather  astonish- 
ing vogue.  Drinkwater  acknowledges  his  debt 
to  Charnwood,  and  it  is  apparent.  What  shall 
we  say  of  this  simple  drama  which  started 
obscurely  in  Birmingham,  captured  London, 
and  now,  having  achieved  a  great  success 
in  New  York  and  Washington,  is  certain  to 


Books  About  Lincoln  [  41 

be    seen    and    profoundly    enjoyed    in    every 
American  city? 

The  play  is  wrong  in  almost  every  possible 
detail,  and  right  in  its  essential  message.  The 
author  does  not  understand  America,  and  his 
Lincoln  is  so  thoroughly  English  that  he  almost 
drops  his  h's.  It  is  an  Englishman's  interpreta- 
tion of  another  Englishman's  interpretation  of 
Lincoln.  An  English  author  does  not  easily 
understand  that  Lincoln,  after  delivering  his 
notable  speech  on  the  "house  divided  against 
itself,"  which  he  addressed  to  the  Republican 
convention  in  Springfield  in  1858,  was  still  not 
an  abolitionist.  He  opposed  the  further  ex- 
tension of  slavery  into  the  territories,  but  had  no 
present  plan  or  desire  to  interfere  with  it  where 
it  existed  in  the  States.  His  emancipation 
policy  was  an  intellectual  and  political  and 
spiritual  evolution.  Nothing  can  be  further 
from  the  truth  than  that  Lincoln,  when  nomi- 
nated, stood  so  committed  to  a  policy  akin  to 
that  of  John  Brown  as  is  assumed  in  the  opening 
lines  of  Drinkwater's  play — a  policy  which 
would  then  deliberately  plunge  the  nation  into 
civil  war  for  the  sake  of  the  freedom  of 
the  slave.  Such  an  interpretation  wholly  de- 
nies what  we  know  of  the  growth  of  the 


42  ]         Abraham  Lincoln  and  His  Books 

purpose  to  free  the  slaves  as  it  existed  in  the 
mind  of  Lincoln. 

If  Drinkwater  misunderstands  Lincoln,  much 
more  does  he  misunderstand  the  men  associated 
with  him.  Seward  was  an  ambitious  man,  who 
believed  himself  a  greater  man  than  the  Presi- 
dent; but  he  was  not  a  fawning  sneak.  The 
characterization  of  General  Grant  as  a  man  who 
could  not  move  a  yard  away  from  his  whiskey 
bottle  is  a  close  approach  to  a  libel.  As  for  the 
old  darkey  whose  impossible  dialect  appears  in 
the  book  and  which  had  to  be  re-written  for  the 
American  stage,  he  is  absurd  enough  when  the 
character  is  named  "Custis."  But  in  the 
English  version  that  ridiculous  character  bears 
the  name  of  Frederick  Douglas.  That  is  a 
sufficient  measure  of  Mr.  Drinkwater's  ability  to 
estimate  correctly  the  men  who  were  Lincoln's 
contemporaries. 

Nevertheless,  I  have  read  the  play,  and  have 
seen  it  on  the  stage,  and  while  compelled  at 
every  step  to  recognize  the  historical  absurdities 
in  it — only  a  few  of  which  are  here  noted — I 
have  been  compelled  to  say  that  Drinkwater, 
writing  under  the  stress  of  Britain's  sacrifice 
in  a  great  war,  has  found  in  Abraham  Lincoln  an 
ennobling  ideal  and  exponent  of  that  for  which 


Books  About  Lincoln  [  43 

Britain  was  striving;  and  that  which  is  universal 
in  men  who  give  themselves  in  sublime  devotion 
to  a  great  cause;  he  has  seen  in  Lincoln's 
patience  and  nobility  of  soul  and  capacity  for 
sympathy,  and  in  the  tragedy  with  which  his 
life  closed,  something  which  rises  above  all 
historical  limitations,  and  which  the  playwright 
has  discovered  for  himself  and  shown  to  others. 
One  cannot  read  or  see  the  play  without  feeling 
its  deep  moral  earnestness,  its  power  of  spiritual 
interpretation,  its  subtle  comprehension  of  the 
soul  of  a  great  man  working  through  heroic 
sacrifice  toward  the  attainment  of  a  great  ideal. 

It  is  interesting  to  remind  ourselves  that 
Drinkwater's  is  not  quite  the  first  attempt  to 
portray  Lincoln  on  the  British  stage.  A  good 
many  years  ago  there  appeared  in  Glasgow  a 
play  entitled  "The  Tragedy  of  Abraham  Lin- 
coln: In  Five  Acts.  By  an  American  Artist." 
How  successful  it  was,  the  present  writer  does 
not  know.  It  was  printed,  and  virtually  the 
entire  edition  was  destroyed  by  fire,  only 
twenty-nine  copies  being  saved,  and  most  of 
those  badly  smoked  and  with  charred  edges. 

The  author  was  Hiram  D.  Torrie.  His  name 
does  not  appear  in  the  book.  He  obtained  much 
of  his  information  from  old  John  Hanks,  and 


44  ]         Abraham  Lincoln  and  His  Books 

some  of  it  is  really  interesting.  John  Hanks  is  a 
second  herb  in  the  book.  He  not  only  does  all 
the  things  that  John  Hanks  did  in  his  own 
proper  person,  but,  as  the  author  explains  in 
the  preface,  it  was  necessary  for  dramatic 
reasons  to  continue  his  activity  through  the 
play;  so  he  combines  the  functions  of  Allan 
Pinkerton,  Boston  Corbett  and  others,  pro- 
tecting Lincoln  while  he  lived  and  avenging 
him  when  he  died.  One  almost  comes  to  think 
that  John  Hanks  may  have  said  to  Torrie  about 
what  Dennis  Hanks  wrote  to  Herndon,  "I  will 
say  this  to  you:  if  you  don't  have  my  name  very 
frequently  in  your  book,  it  won't  go  at  all." 

The  book  is  very  rare,  and  has  a  special  inter- 
est as  a  contrast  to  the  work  of  John  Drink- 
water,  which,  with  all  its  limitations,  has  won 
an  assured  place  for  itself  in  Lincoln  literature. 

It  is  interesting  to  know  that  Mr.  Drinkwater 
is  following  his  play  with  a  book,  announced  for 
publication  in  the  autumn  of  1920,  entitled, 
"Lincoln,  the  World  Emancipator."  Whatever 
its  limitations,  and  they  are  not  likely  to  be  few, 
the  title  indicates  a  point  of  view  which  must 
give  interest  to  the  book;  for  Mr.  Drinkwater 
thinks  of  Lincoln  not  simply  as  the  emancipator 
of  American  black  slaves,  but  as  "The  World 


Books  About  Lincoln  [  45 

Emancipator".  Lincoln  has  become  not  simply 
America's  most  representative  American,  but  in 
many  respects  the  foremost  world-citizen. 

Abraham  Lincoln  is  a  young  folks'  hero. 
There  are  several  good  Lives  of  Lincoln  for 
boys  and  girls ;  nor  is  it  easy  to  think  of  a  modern 
character  the  study  of  whose  life  could  be  more 
valuable  for  young  people. 

Beside  formal  biographies  there  are  many 
books  of  genuine  value  which  deal  with  special 
aspects  of  Lincoln's  life.  The  volume  of 
Reminiscences  edited  by  Allan  Thorndike  Rice, 
while  out  of  print,  is  still  easily  obtainable  and 
is  a  book  of  permanent  worth.  Among  books 
that  deal  with  aspects  of  his  character  or  career, 
one  thinks  at  once  of  Rothschild's  "Honest 
Abe"  and  "Lincoln,  Master  of  Men,"  of  Judge 
Richards'  "Lincoln,  the  Lawyer-Statesman," 
of  Colonel  Carr's  "Lincoln  at  Gettysburg,"  and 
other  well  known  and  justly  esteemed  mono- 
graphs. 

The  religion  of  Lincoln  has  called  forth  an 
extensive  literature,  I  will  not  mention  this, 
for  I  have  sought  to  cover  that  and  adjacent 
fields  in  my  "The  Soul  of  Abraham  Lincoln." 

The  ancestry  of  Lincoln  has  evoked  a  small, 
but  important  literature,  to  which  I  have  given 


46  ]        Abraham  Lincoln  and  His  Books 

a  critical  analysis  in  my  "The  Paternity  of 
Abraham  Lincoln",  and  need  not  mention  here 
in  detail. 

Some  of  the  biographies  of  Abraham  Lincoln 
were  promptly  translated  into  other  languages, 
and  soon  other  and  original  works  concerning 
him  appeared  in  other  lands.  His  Life  is  now 
to  be  found  not  only  in  French  and  Spanish  and 
German  and  Italian  and  Dutch,  but  in  Japanese 
and  Chinese  and  in  various  other  languages  and 
dialects.  A  very  interesting  shelf  can  be  made 
of  Lives  of  Lincoln  in  languages  other  than  the 
English;  and  such  a  collection  is  valuable  as 
showing  how  far  the  name  and  character  of  this 
great  man  are  known  and  honored  the  whole 
world  around. 

The  books  about  Lincoln  which  are  still  in 
print  and  obtainable  without  the  payment  of  a 
premium  upon  the  prices  of  the  publishers,  are 
less  in  number  than  those  that  are  out  of  print. 
But  it  is  to  be  remembered  that  those  which  are 
most  permanently  valuable  have  not  been 
allowed  to  die.  Important  as  it  is  for  collectors 
and  for  authors  to  consult  the  books  which  no 
longer  stand  upon  the  shelves  of  the  vendors 
of  current  books,  the  books  that  give  the  best 
and  most  mature  views  of  Lincoln  are  all  still 


Books  About  Lincoln  [  47 

obtainable  and  at  reasonable  rates.  The 
bibliography  at  the  close  of  this  volume  shows 
how  many  they  are  and  how  varied  is  the  list. 

He  who  would  realize  how  voluminous  is  the 
Lincoln  literature  should  visit  some  really  large 
collection,  and  see  for  himself  something  of  its 
extent  and  variety.  But  if  this  be  not  practi- 
cable, he  may  at  least  consult  the  Bibliography 
issued  by  the  Library  of  Congress  in  1906,  under 
the  diligent  labor  of  George  T.  Ritchie,  and  sold 
at  the  nominal  price  which  the  Government 
places  upon  its  publications.  But  the  list  has 
lengthened  measurably  since  Mr.  Ritchie  did 
his  work;  and  a  more  nearly  complete  bibliog- 
raphy is  that  of  Honorable  Daniel  Fish  of 
Minneapolis,  of  which,  I  believe,  a  new  and 
enlarged  edition  is  in  preparation. 

He  who  looks  through  this  volume,  or  sees  the 
books,  is  sure  to  ask,  "How  is  it  possible  that 
there  should  be  so  much  to  say  and  write  about 
one  man?  Are  we  not  at  the  end?  Can  future 
authors  do  any  more  than  thrash  over  the  old 
straw?" 

I  think  I  can  answer  the  latter  question  with 
confident  affirmation.  There  still  is  unpublished 
material  of  value  concerning  Abraham  Lincoln. 
Patient  research  is  certain  to  uncover  new 


48  ]        Abraham  Lincoln  and  His  Books 

sources  of  information.  One  who  has  been  for 
many  years  a  gleaner  in  this  field  learns  that 
there  are  yet  considerable  areas  of  information 
awaiting  the  careful  investigation  of  the  in- 
dustrious and  discriminating  author.  Lincoln 
books  will  continue  to  appear. 

Many  of  the  new  books  will  be  good  books. 
They  will  contain  new  information,  and  what  is 
more,  they  will  reveal  the  growing  greatness  of 
Lincoln  which  even  now  we  are  only  beginning 
to  realize,  and  which  we  could  not  know  till 
receding  decades  gave  to  us  adequate  perspective 
for  the  estimate  of  so  great  a  man.  Old  books 
about  Lincoln  increase  in  price,  because  the  fame 
of  Lincoln  grows  greater  every  year. 

Furthermore,  Lincoln  books  are  of  permanent 
value.  Scarce  items  are  becoming  more  scarce 
and  more  valuable;  and  there  appears  at  present 
no  reason  to  expect  that  interest  in  Abraham 
Lincoln  will  diminish.  His  fame  grows  with 
the  generations.  He  was  once  the  hero  of  a 
nation;  he  is  now  a  world  hero. 


PART  II 


SELECTIONS  FROM  THE  WRITINGS  OF 
LINCOLN 


SELECTIONS  FROM  THE  WRITINGS 
OF  LINCOLN 


NOTES  FOR  A  LAW  LECTURE 

July  1,  1850 

[These  notes  give  to  us  the  most  comprehensive  view  in  Lincoln's 
own  words  of  the  dignity  of  his  chosen  profession,  and  the  avenue  to 
success  in  it.  They  also  indicate  something  of  his  idea  of  professional 
ethics,  and  are  a  good  example  of  his  power  of  clear  and  forceful 
statement.] 

I  AM  not  an  accomplished  lawyer.  I  find  quite  as 
much  material  for  a  lecture  in  those  points  wherein  I  have 
failed  as  in  those  wherein  I  have  been  moderately  success- 
ful. The  leading  rule  for  the  lawyer,  as  for  the  man  of 
every  other  calling,  is  diligence.  Leave  nothing  for  to- 
morrow which  can  be  done  today.  Never  let  your  cor- 
respondence fall  behind.  Whatever  piece  of  business  you 
have  in  hand,  before  stopping,  do  all  the  labor  pertaining 
to  it  which  can  then  be  done.  When  you  bring  a  com- 
mon-law suit,  if  you  have  the  facts  for  doing  so,  write  the 
declaration  at  once.  If  a  law  point  be  involved,  examine 
the  books,  and  note  the  authority  you  rely  on  upon  the 
declaration  itself,  where  you  are  sure  to  find  it  when 
wanted.  The  same  of  defenses  and  pleas.  In  business 
not  likely  to  be  litigated, — ordinary  collection  cases,  fore- 
closures, partitions,  and  the  like, — make  all  examinations 
of  titles,  and  note  them,  and  even  draft  orders  and  decrees 
in  advance.  This  course  has  a  triple  advantage;  it  avoids 

51 


52  ]         Abraham  Lincoln  and  His  Books 

omissions  and  neglect,  saves  your  labor  when  once  done, 
performs  the  labor  out  of  court  when  you  have  leisure, 
rather  than  in  court  when  you  have  not.  Extemporaneous 
speaking  should  be  practised  and  cultivated.  It  is  the 
lawyer's  avenue  to  the  public.  However  able  and  faith- 
ful he  may  be  in  other  respects,  people  are  slow  to  bring 
him  business  if  he  cannot  make  a  speech.  And  yet  there 
is  not  a  more  fatal  error  to  young  lawyers  than  relying 
too  much  on  speech-making.  If  any  one,  upon  his  rare 
powers  of  speaking,  shall  claim  an  exemption  from  the 
drudgery  of  the  law,  his  case  is  a  failure  in  advance. 

Discourage  litigation.  Persuade  your  neighbors  to 
compromise  whenever  you  can.  Point  out  to  them  how 
the  nominal  winner  is  often  a  real  loser — in  fees,  expenses, 
and  waste  of  time.  As  a  peacemaker  the  lawyer  has  a 
superior  opportunity  of  being  a  good  man.  There  will 
still  be  business  enough. 

Never  stir  up  litigation.  A  worse  man  can  scarcely  be 
found  than  one  who  does  this.  Who  can  be  more  nearly 
a  fiend  than  he  who  habitually  overhauls  the  register  of 
deeds  in  search  of  defects  in  titles,  whereon  to  stir  up 
strife,  and  put  money  in  his  pocket?  A  moral  tone  ought 
to  be  infused  into  the  profession  which  should  drive  such 
men  out  of  it. 

The  matter  of  fees  is  important,  far  beyond  the  mere 
question  of  bread  and  butter  involved.  Properly  attended 
to,  fuller  justice  is  done  to  both  lawyer  and  client.  An 
exorbitant  fee  should  never  be  claimed.  As  a  general 
rule  never  take  your  whole  fee  in  advance,  nor  any  more 
than  a  small  retainer.  When  fully  paid  beforehand,  you 
are  more  than  a  common  mortal  if  you  can  feel  the  same 
interest  in  the  case,  as  if  something  was  still  in  prospect 
for  you,  as  well  as  for  your  client.  And  when  you  lack 
interest  in  the  case  the  job  will  very  likely  lack  skill  and 


Selections  from  the  Writings  of  Lincoln    [  53 

diligence  in  the  performance.  Settle  the  amount  of  fee 
and  take  a  note  in  advance.  Then  you  will  feel  that  you 
are  working  for  something,  and  you  are  sure  to  do  your 
work  faithfully  and  well.  Never  sell  a  fee  note — at  least 
not  before  the  consideration  service  is  performed.  It 
leads  to  negligence  and  dishonesty — negligence  by  losing 
interest  in  the  case,  and  dishonesty  in  refusing  to  refund 
when  you  have  allowed  the  consideration  to  fail. 

There  is  a  vague  popular  belief  that  lawyers  are  neces- 
sarily dishonest.  I  say  vague,  because  when  we  consider 
to  what  extent  confidence  and  honors  are  reposed  in  and 
conferred  upon  lawyers  by  the  people,  it  appears  improb- 
able that  their  impression  of  dishonesty  is  very  distinct 
and  vivid.  Yet  the  impression  is  common,  almost  uni- 
versal. Let  no  young  man  choosing  the  law  for  a  calling 
for  a  moment  yield  to  the  popular  belief — resolve  to  be 
honest  at  all  events;  and  if  in  your  own  judgment  you 
cannot  be  an  honest  lawyer,  resolve  to  be  honest  without 
being  a  lawyer.  Choose  some  other  occupation,  rather 
than  one  in  the  choosing  of  which  you  do,  in  advance, 
consent  to  be  a  knave. 


54  ]         Abraham  Lincoln  and  His  Books 

A  FRAGMENT  CONCERNING  FREE  AND 
SLAVE  LABOR 

July  1.  1854 

[This  is  one  of  the  most  frequently  misquoted  of  Lincoln's  utterances. 
The  statement  "Twenty-five  years  ago  I  was  a  hired  laborer' '  has  been 
used  as  the  basis  of  a  lengthy  statement  containing  much  which  Lincoln 
did  not  say.  It  is  an  early  and  very  significant  declaration  of  Lincoln's 
opinions  on  the  practical  value  of  free  labor,  and  worthy  of  a  high  place 
in  the  literature  of  this  subject.] 

EQUALITY  in  society  alike  beats  inequality,  whether 
the  latter  be  of  the  British  aristocratic  sort  or  of  the 
domestic  slavery  sort.  We  know  Southern  men  declare 
that  their  slaves  are  better  off  than  hired  laborers  amongst 
us.  How  little  they  know  whereof  they  speak!  There 
is  no  permanent  class  of  hired  laborers  amongst  us. 
Twenty-five  years  ago  I  was  a  hired  laborer.  The  hired 
laborer  of  yesterday  labors  on  his  own  account  today,  and 
will  hire  others  to  labor  for  him  tomorrow.  Advance- 
ment— improvement  in  condition — is  the  order  of  things 
in  a  society  of  equals.  As  labor  is  the  common  burden 
of  our  race,  so  the  effort  of  some  to  shift  their  share  of  the 
burden  onto  the  shoulders  of  others  is  the  great  durable 
curse  of  the  race.  Originally  a  curse  for  transgression 
upon  the  whole  race,  when,  as  by  slavery,  it  is  concen- 
trated on  a  part  only,  it  becomes  the  double-refined  curse 
of  God  upon  his  creatures. 

Free  labor  has  the  inspiration  of  hope;  pure  slavery 
has  no  hope.  The  power  of  hope  upon  human  exertion 
and  happiness  is  wonderful.  The  slave-master  himself  has 
a  conception  of  it,  and  hence  the  system  of  tasks  among 
slaves.  The  slave  whom  you  cannot  drive  with  the  lash 
to  break  seventy-five  pounds  of  hemp  in  a  day,  if  you 
will  task  him  to  break  a  hundred,  and  promise  him  pay 
for  all  he  does  over,  he  will  break  you  a  hundred  and  fifty. 


Selections  from  the  Writings  of  Lincoln    [  55 

You  have  substituted  hope  for  the  rod.  And  yet  perhaps 
it  does  not  occur  to  you  that  to  the  extent  of  your  gain 
in  the  case,  you  have  given  up  the  slave  system  and 
adopted  the  free  system  of  labor. 


56  ]         Abraham  Lincoln  and  His  Books 
THE  HOUSE  DIVIDED  AGAINST  ITSELF 

June  16,  1858 

[This  is  the  opening  paragraph  of  the  speech  which  is  believed  to 
have  defeated  Lincoln  in  his  candidacy  for  the  Senate,  and  by  that 
process  made  him  the  more  certainly  a  candidate  for  the  Presidency. 
This  paragraph  was  prepared  with  as  great  care  as  Lincoln  ever  gave 
to  a  public  utterance.  He  knew  that  by  it  he  was  to  stand  or  fall.  The 
speech  was  delivered  in  Springfield,  at  the  close  of  the  convention  that 
nominated  Mr.  Lincoln  as  Senator  in  opposition  to  Stephen  A.  Douglas.] 

Mr.  President  and  Gentlemen  of  the  Convention:  If  we 
could  first  know  where  we  are,  and  whither  we  are  tending, 
we  could  better  judge  what  to  do,  and  how  to  do  it.  We 
are  now  far  into  the  fifth  year  since  a  policy  was  initiated 
with  the  avowed  object  and  confident  promise  of  putting 
an  end  to  slavery  agitation.  Under  the  operation  of  that 
policy,  that  agitation  has  not  only  not  ceased,  but  has 
constantly  augmented.  In  my  opinion,  it  will  not  cease 
until  a  crisis  shall  have  been  reached  and  passed.  "A 
house  divided  against  itself  cannot  stand."  I  believe  this 
government  cannot  endure  permanently  half  slave  and 
half  free.  I  do  not  expect  the  Union  to  be  dissolved — I 
do  not  expect  the  house  to  fall — but  I  do  expect  it  will 
cease  to  be  divided.  It  will  become  all  one  thing,  or  all 
the  other.  Either  the  opponents  of  slavery  will  arrest 
the  further  spread  of  it,  and  place  it  where  the  public 
mind  shall  rest  in  the  belief  that  it  is  in  the  course  of 
ultimate  extinction;  or  its  advocates  will  push  it  forward 
till  it  shall  become  alike  lawful  in  all  the  States,  old  as 
well  as  new,  North  as  well  as  South. 


Selections  from  the  Writings  of  Lincoln    [  57 
His  LAST  WORDS  AT  SPRINGFIELD 

February  11,  1860 

[On  the  morning  before  his  fifty-second  birthday,  Mr.  Lincoln  stood 
on  the  rear  platform  of  the  train  that  was  to  bear  him  away  from  Spring- 
field to  Washington.  A  solemn  premonition  was  upon  him  that  he 
might  be  addressing  for  the  last  time  his  old  neighbors  and  friends. 
Almost  choking  with  emotion,  and  with  tears  at  the  end  blurring  his 
vision,  he  spoke  the  words  of  this  brief  farewell.] 

My  Friends:  No  one,  not  in  my  situation,  can  appre- 
ciate my  feeling  of  sadness  at  this  parting.  To  this  place, 
and  the  kindness  of  these  people,  I  owe  everything.  Here 
I  have  lived  a  quarter  of  a  century,  and  have  passed  from 
a  young  to  an  old  man.  Here  my  children  have  been 
born,  and  one  is  buried.  I  now  leave,  not  knowing  when 
or  whether  ever  I  may  return,  with  a  task  before  me 
greater  than  that  which  rested  upon  Washington.  With- 
out the  assistance  of  that  Divine  Being  who  ever  attended 
him,  I  cannot  succeed.  With  that  assistance,  I  cannot 
fail.  Trusting  in  Him  who  can  go  with  me,  and  remain 
with  you,  and  be  everywhere  for  good,  let  us  confidently 
hope  that  all  will  yet  be  well.  To  His  care  commending 
you,  as  I  hope  in  your  prayers  you  will  commend  me,  I 
bid  you  an  affectionate  farewell. 


58  ]         Abraham  Lincoln  and  His  Books 
THE  EMANCIPATION  PROCLAMATION 

January  1,  1863 
[By  this  document,  Lincoln  freed  a  race.] 

BY  THE  PRESIDENT  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES  OF  AMERICA: 
A  Proclamation 

Whereas,  on  the  twenty-second  day  of  September,  in 
the  year  of  our  Lord  one  thousand  eight  hundred  and 
sixty-two,  a  proclamation  was  issued  by  the  President  of 
the  United  States,  containing,  among  other  things,  the 
following,  to  wit: 

"That  on  the  first  day  of  January,  in  the  year  of  our 
Lord  one  thousand  eight  hundred  and  sixty-three,  all 
persons  held  as  slaves  within  any  State,  or  designated 
part  of  a  State,  the  people  whereof  shall  then  be  in  rebel- 
lion against  the  United  States,  shall  be  then,  thencefor- 
ward, and  forever  free;  and  the  Executive  Government 
of  the  United  States,  including  the  military  and  naval 
authority  thereof,  will  recognize  and  maintain  the  freedom 
of  such  persons,  and  will  do  no  act  or  acts  to  repress  such 
persons,  or  any  of  them,  in  any  efforts  they  may  make 
for  their  actual  freedom. 

"That  the  Executive  will,  on  the  first  day  of  January 
aforesaid,  by  proclamation,  designate  the  States  and 
parts  of  States,  if  any,  in  which  the  people  thereof  respect- 
ively shall  then  be  in  rebellion  against  the  United  States; 
and  the  fact  that  any  State,  or  the  people  thereof,  shall 
on  that  day  be  in  good  faith  represented  in  the  Congress 
of  the  United  States  by  members  chosen  thereto  at  elec- 
tions wherein  a  majority  of  the  qualified  voters  of  such 
State  shall  have  participated,  shall  in  the  absence  of 
strong  countervailing  testimony  be  deemed  conclusive 
evidence  that  such  State  and  the  people  thereof  are  not 
then  in  rebellion  against  the  United  States." 


Selections  from  the  Writings  of  Lincoln   [  59 

Now,  therefore,  I,  Abraham  Lincoln,  President  of  the 
United  States,  by  virtue  of  the  power  in  me  vested  as 
commander-in-chief  of  the  army  and  navy  of  the  United 
States,  in  time  of  actual  armed  rebellion  against  the 
authority  and  government  of  the  United  States,  and  as  a 
fit  and  necessary  war  measure  for  suppressing  said  rebel- 
lion, do,  on  this  first  day  of  January,  in  the  year  of  our 
Lord  one  thousand  eight  hundred  and  sixty-three,  and  in 
accordance  with  my  purpose  so  to  do,  publicly  proclaimed 
for  the  full  period  of  100  days  from  the  day  first  above 
mentioned,  order  and  designate  as  the  States  and  parts 
of  States  wherein  the  people  thereof,  respectively,  are 
this  day  in  rebellion  against  the  United  States,  the  follow- 
ing, to  wit: 

Arkansas,  Texas,  Louisiana  (except  the  parishes  of  St. 
Bernard,  Plaquemines,  Jefferson,  St.  John,  St.  Charles, 
St.  James,  Ascension,  Assumption,  Terre  Bonne,  Lafour- 
che,  St.  Mary,  St.  Martin,  and  Orleans,  including  the  city 
of  New  Orleans),  Mississippi,  Alabama,  Florida,  Georgia, 
South  Carolina,  North  Carolina,  and  Virginia  (except  the 
forty-eight  counties  designated  as  West  Virginia,  and  also 
the  counties  of  Berkeley,  Accomac,  Northampton,  Eliza- 
beth City,  York,  Princess  Ann,  and  Norfolk,  including 
the  cities  of  Norfolk  and  Portsmouth),  and  which  excepted 
parts  are  for  the  present  left  precisely  as  if  this  proclama- 
tion were  not  issued. 

And  by  virtue  of  the  power  and  for  the  purpose  afore- 
said, I  do  order  and  declare  that  all  persons  held  as  slaves 
within  said  designated  States  and  parts  of  States  are,  and 
henceforward  shall  be,  free;  and  that  the  Executive 
Government  of  the  United  States,  including  the  military 
and  naval  authorities  thereof,  will  recognize  and  maintain 
the  freedom  of  said  persons. 

And  I  hereby  enjoin  upon  the  people  so  declared  to  be 


60  ]         Abraham  Lincoln  and  His  Books 

free  to  abstain  from  all  violence,  unless  in  necessary  self- 
defence;  and  I  recommend  to  them  that,  in  all  cases  when 
allowed,  they  labor  faithfully  for  reasonable  wages. 

And  I  further  declare  and  make  known  that  such  per- 
sons of  suitable  condition  will  be  received  into  the  armed 
service  of  the  United  States  to  garrison  forts,  positions, 
stations,  and  other  places,  and  to  man  vessels  of  all  sorts 
in  said  service. 

And  upon  this  act,  sincerely  believed  to  be  an  act  of 
justice,  warranted  by  the  Constitution  upon  military 
necessity,  I  invoke  the  considerate  judgment  of  mankind 
and  the  gracious  favor  of  Almighty  God. 

In  witness  whereof,  I  have  hereunto  set  my  hand,  and 
caused  the  seal  of  the  United  States  to  be  affixed. 

Done  at  the  city  of  Washington,  this  first  day  of 
January,  in  the  year  of  our  Lord  one  thousand 
eight  hundred  and  sixty -three,  and  of  the  inde- 
pendence of  the  United  States  of  America  the 
eighty-seventh. 

ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

By  the  President:  WILLIAM  H.  SEWABD,  Secretary  of 
State. 


Selections  from  the  Writings  of  Lincoln   [  61 
THE  GETTYSBURG  ADDRESS 

November  19, 1863 

[This  little  speech,  which  followed  a  truly  great  oration,  two  hours 
in  length,  by  Edward  Everett,  one  of  the  most  noted  orators  of  his 
generation,  grows  every  year  in  popularity;  and  is  one  of  the  surest  pieces 
of  oratory  in  the  English  language  to  endure  through  coming  centuries.] 

FOURSCORE  and  seven  years  ago  our  fathers  brought 
forth  on  this  continent  a  new  nation,  conceived  in  liberty, 
and  dedicated  to  the  proposition  that  all  men  are  created 
equal. 

Now  we  are  engaged  in  a  great  civil  war,  testing 
whether  that  nation,  or  any  nation  so  conceived  and  so 
dedicated,  can  long  endure.  We  are  met  on  a  great  battle- 
field of  that  war.  We  have  come  to  dedicate  a  portion 
of  that  field  as  a  final  resting-place  for  those  who  here 
gave  their  lives  that  that  nation  might  live.  It  is  alto- 
gether fitting  and  proper  that  we  should  do  this. 

But,  in  a  larger  sense,  we  cannot  dedicate — we  cannot 
consecrate — we  cannot  hallow — this  ground.  The  brave 
men,  living  and  dead,  who  struggled  here,  have  conse- 
crated it  far  above  our  poor  power  to  add  or  detract. 
The  world  will  little  note  nor  long  remember  what  we 
say  here,  but  it  can  never  forget  what  they  did  here.  It 
is  for  us,  the  living,  rather,  to  be  dedicated  here  to  the 
unfinished  work  which  they  who  fought  here  have  thus 
far  so  nobly  advanced.  It  is  rather  for  us  to  be  here 
dedicated  to  the  great  task  remaining  before  us — that 
from  these  honored  dead  we  take  increased  devotion  to 
that  cause  for  which  they  gave  the  last  full  measure  of 
devotion;  that  we  here  highly  resolve  that  these  dead 
shall  not  have  died  in  vain;  that  this  nation,  under  God, 
shall  have  a  new  birth  of  freedom;  and  that  government 
of  the  people,  by  the  people,  for  the  people,  shall  not 
perish  from  the  earth. 


62  ]         Abraham  Lincoln  and  His  Books 
ADDRESS  ON  His  RE-ELECTION 

November  10,  1864 

[During  the  summer  of  1864,  Lincoln  reached  the  definite  conclusion 
that  he  was  to  be  defeated  in  November.  The  tide  of  popular  opinion 
turned,  however,  and  Lincoln  was  triumphantly  re-elected.  To  a  com- 
pany that  came  to  serenade  him  at  the  White  House  just  after  the  news 
of  the  election  was  confirmed,  Mr.  Lincoln  delivered  a  short  and  im- 
pressive address.] 

IT  has  long  been  a  grave  question  whether  any  govern- 
ment, not  too  strong  for  the  liberties  of  its  people,  can  be 
strong  enough  to  maintain  its  existence  in  great  emer- 
gencies. On  this  point  the  present  rebellion  brought  our 
republic  to  a  severe  test,  and  a  presidential  election  occur- 
ring in  regular  course  during  the  rebellion,  added  not  a 
little  to  the  strain. 

If  the  loyal  people  united  were  put  to  the  utmost  of 
their  strength  by  the  rebellion,  must  they  not  fail  when 
divided  and  partially  paralyzed  by  a  political  war  among 
themselves?  But  the  election  was  a  necessity.  We  can- 
not have  free  government  without  elections;  and  if  the 
rebellion  could  force  us  to  forego  or  postpone  a  national 
election,  it  might  fairly  claim  to  have  already  conquered 
and  ruined  us.  The  strife  of  the  election  is  but  human 
nature  practically  applied  to  the  facts  of  the  case.  What 
has  occurred  in  this  case  must  ever  recur  in  similar  cases. 
Human  nature  will  not  change.  In  any  future  great 
national  trial,  compared  with  the  men  of  this,  we  shall 
have  as  weak  and  as  strong,  as  silly  and  as  wise,  as  bad 
and  as  good.  Let  us,  therefore,  study  the  incidents  of 
this  as  philosophy  to  learn  wisdom  from,  and  none  of 
them  as  wrongs  to  be  revenged.  But  the  election,  along 
with  its  incidental  and  undesirable  strife,  has  done  good 
too.  It  has  demonstrated  that  a  people's  government 
can  sustain  a  national  election  in  the  midst  of  a  great 


Selections  from  the  Writings  of  Lincoln    [  63 

civil  war.  Until  now,  it  has  not  been  known  to  the  world 
that  this  was  a  possibility.  It  shows,  also,  how  sound 
and  how  strong  we  still  are.  It  shows  that,  even  among 
candidates  of  the  same  party,  he  who  is  most  devoted  to 
the  Union  and  most  opposed  to  treason  can  receive  most 
of  the  people's  votes.  It  shows,  also,  to  the  extent  yet 
known,  that  we  have  more  men  now  than  we  had  when 
the  war  began.  Gold  is  good  in  its  place,  but  living, 
brave,  patriotic  men  are  better  than  gold. 

But  the  rebellion  continues,  and  now  that  the  election 
is  over,  may  not  all  having  a  common  interest  reunite  in 
a  common  effort  to  save  our  common  country?  For  my 
own  part,  I  have  striven  and  shall  strive  to  avoid  placing 
any  obstacle  in  the  way.  So  long  as  I  have  been  here  I 
have  not  willingly  planted  a  thorn  in  any  man's  bosom. 
While  I  am  deeply  sensible  to  the  high  compliment  of  a 
re-election,  and  duly  grateful,  as  I  trust,  to  Almighty  God 
for  having  directed  my  countrymen  to  a  right  conclusion, 
as  I  think,  for  their  own  good,  it  adds  nothing  to  my 
satisfaction  that  any  other  man  may  be  disappointed  or 
pained  by  the  result. 

May  I  ask  those  who  have  not  differed  with  me  to 
join  with  me  in  this  same  spirit  toward  those  who  have? 
And  now  let  me  close  by  asking  three  hearty  cheers  for 
our  brave  soldiers  and  seamen  and  their  gallant  and 
skilful  commanders. 


64  ]        Abraham  Lincoln  and  His  Books 
THE  SECOND  INAUGRAL  ADDRESS 

March  4,  1865 

[It  is  no  disparagement  of  the  Gettysburg  address  to  say  that  this 
is  Lincoln's  masterpiece.  It  was  his  crowning  achievement  in  the 
sphere  of  oratory.  Of  it  he  wrote  a  few  days  later  to  Thurlow  Weed 
that  while  he  did  not  think  the  views  he  expressed  were  popular,  he 
believed  that  this  speech  would  "wear  as  well  as — perhaps  better  than — 
anything  I  have  produced."  It  measures  Lincoln's  nobility  of  soul  and 
power  of  expression  at  high  tide.  It  is  the  greatest  word  he  ever  spoke.] 

Fellow-countrymen:  At  this  second  appearing  to  take 
the  oath  of  the  presidential  office,  there  is  less  occasion 
for  an  extended  address  than  there  was  at  the  first.  Then 
a  statement,  somewhat  in  detail,  of  a  course  to  be  pur- 
sued, seemed  fitting  and  proper.  Now,  at  the  expiration 
of  four  years,  during  which  public  declarations  have  been 
constantly  called  forth  on  every  point  and  phase  of  the 
great  contest  which  still  absorbs  the  attention  and  en- 
grosses the  energies  of  the  nation,  little  that  is  new  could 
be  presented.  The  progress  of  our  arms,  upon  which  all 
else  chiefly  depends,  is  as  well  known  to  the  public  as  to 
myself;  and  it  is,  I  trust,  reasonably  satisfactory  and  en- 
couraging to  all.  With  high  hope  for  the  future,  no 
prediction  in  regard  to  it  is  ventured. 

On  the  occasion  corresponding  to  this  four  years  ago, 
all  thoughts  were  anxiously  directed  to  an  impending 
civil  war.  All  dreaded  it — all  sought  to  avert  it.  While 
the  inaugural  address  was  being  delivered  from  this  place, 
devoted  altogether  to  saving  the  Union  without  war, 
insurgent  agents  were  in  the  city  seeking  to  destroy  it 
without  war — seeking  to  dissolve  the  Union,  and  divide 
effects,  by  negotiation.  Both  parties  deprecated  war;  but 
one  of  them  would  make  war  rather  than  let  the  nation 
survive;  and  the  other  would  accept  war  rather  than  let 
it  perish.  And  the  war  came. 

One-eighth   of   the   whole   population   were   colored 


Selections  from  the  Writings  of  Lincoln    [  65 

slaves,  not  distributed  generally  over  the  Union,  but 
localized  in  the  Southern  part  of  it.  These  slaves  con- 
stituted a  pecular  and  powerful  interest.  All  knew  that 
this  interest  was,  somehow,  the  cause  of  the  war.  To 
strengthen,  perpetuate,  and  extend  this  interest  was  the 
object  for  which  the  insurgents  would  rend  the  Union, 
even  by  war;  while  the  government  claimed  no  right  to 
do  more  than  to  restrict  the  territorial  enlargement  of  it. 

Neither  party  expected  for  the  war  the  magnitude  or 
the  duration  which  it  has  already  attained.  Neither 
anticipated  that  the  cause  of  the  conflict  might  cease 
with,  or  even  before,  the  conflict  itself  should  cease. 
Each  looked  for  an  easier  triumph,  and  a  result  less  funda- 
mental and  astounding.  Both  read  the  same  Bible,  and 
pray  to  the  same  God;  and  each  invokes  his  aid  against 
the  other.  It  may  seem  strange  that  any  men  should 
dare  to  ask  a  just  God's  assistance  in  wringing  their 
bread  from  the  sweat  of  other  men's  faces;  but  let  us 
judge  not,  that  we  be  not  judged.  The  prayers  of  both 
could  not  be  answered — that  of  neither  has  been  answered 
fully. 

The  Almighty  has  his  own  purposes.  "Woe  unto  the 
world  because  of  offenses!  for  it  must  needs  be  that 
offenses  come;  but  woe  to  that  man  by  whom  the  offense 
cometh."  If  we  shall  suppose  that  American  slavery  is 
one  of  those  offenses  which,  in  the  providence  of  God, 
must  needs  come,  but  which,  having  continued  through 
his  appointed  time,  he  now  wills  to  remove,  and  that  he 
gives  to  both  North  and  South  this  terrible  war,  as  the 
woe  due  to  those  by  whom  the  offense  came,  shall  we 
discern  therein  any  departure  from  those  divine  attri- 
butes which  the  believers  in  a  living  God  always  ascribe 
to  him?  Fondly  do  we  hope — fervently  do  we  pray — 
that  this  mighty  scourge  of  war  may  speedily  pass  away. 


66  ]        Abraham  Lincoln  and  His  Books 

Yet,  if  God  wills  that  it  continue  until  all  the  wealth  piled 
by  the  bondman's  two  hundred  and  fifty  years  of  unre- 
quited toil  shall  be  sunk,  and  until  every  drop  of  blood 
drawn  with  the  lash  shall  be  paid  by  another  drawn  with 
the  sword,  as  was  said  three  thousand  years  ago,  so  still 
it  must  be  said,  "The  judgments  of  the  Lord  are  true  and 
righteous  altogether." 

With  malice  toward  none;  with  charity  for  all;  with 
firmness  in  the  right,  as  God  gives  us  to  see  the  right,  let 
us  strive  on  to  finish  the  work  we  are  in;  to  bind  up  the 
nation's  wounds;  to  care  for  him  who  shall  have  borne 
the  battle,  and  for  his  widow,  and  his  orphan — to  do  all 
which  may  achieve  and  cherish  a  just  and  lasting  peace 
among  ourselves,  and  with  all  nations. 


Selections  from  the  Writings  of  Lincoln    [  67 

LETTER  TO  THE  PARENTS  OF  COLONEL 
ELMER  E.  ELLSWORTH 

May  25,  1861 

[The  very  beginning  of  bloodshed  brought  heart-break  to  the  home 
of  President  Lincoln,  in  the  tragic  death  of  Colonel  Elmer  E.  Ellsworth, 
who  had  been  almost  a  son  to  Mr.  Lincoln.  This  letter  which  he  sent 
to  the  parents  of  the  gallant  young  officer  shows  the  depth  of  his  sym- 
pathies and  the  strength  of  his  personal  affection.] 

Washington,  D.  C.,  May  25,  1861. 
To  the  Father  and  Mother  of  Colonel  Elmer  E.  Ellsworth: 

MY  DEAR  SIB  AND  MADAM:  In  the  untimely  loss  of 
you  noble  son,  our  affliction  here  is  scarcely  less  than 
your  own.  So  much  of  promised  usefulness  to  one's 
country,  and  of  bright  hopes  for  one's  self  and  friends, 
have  rarely  been  so  suddenly  dashed  as  in  his  fall.  In 
size,  in  years,  and  in  youthful  appearance  a  boy  only, 
his  power  to  command  men  was  surpassingly  great.  This 
power,  combined  with  a  fine  intellect,  an  indomitable 
energy,  and  a  taste  altogether  military,  constituted  in 
him,  as  it  seemed  to  me,  the  best  natural  talent  in  that 
department  I  ever  knew. 

And  yet  he  was  singularly  modest  and  deferential  in 
social  intercourse.  My  acquaintance  with  him  began 
less  than  two  years  ago;  yet  through  the  latter  half  of 
the  intervening  period  it  was  as  intimate  as  the  disparity 
of  our  ages  and  my  engrossing  occupations  would  permit. 
To  me  he  appeared  to  have  no  indulgences  and  no  pas- 
times; and  I  never  heard  him  utter  a  profane  or  an  in- 
temperate word.  What  was  conclusive  of  his  good  heart, 
he  never  forgot  his  parents.  The  honors  he  labored  for 
so  laudably,  and  for  which  in  the  sad  end  he  gallantly 
gave  his  life,  he  meant  for  them  no  less  than  for  himself. 

In  the  hope  that  it  may  be  no  intrusion  upon  the 
sacredness  of  your  sorrow,  I  have  ventured  to  address 


68  ]        Abraham  Lincoln  and  His  Books 

you  this  tribute  in  memory  of  my  young  friend  and  your 
brave  and  early  fallen  child. 

May  God  give  you  consolation  which  is  beyond  all 
earthly  power. 

Sincerely  your  friend  in  a  common  affliction, 

A.  LINCOLN. 


Selections  from  the  Writings  of  Lincoln    [  69 
LETTER  TO  MRS.  BIXBY 

November  21,  1864 

[Burdened  with  his  public  duties  though  he  was,  Mr.  Lincoln  found 
time  to  write  to  a  grief-stricken  mother  this  letter.] 

EXECUTIVE  MANSION,  Washington,  November  21,  1864. 
MRS.  BIXBY,  Boston,  Massachusetts: 

DEAR  MADAM:  I  have  been  shown  in  the  files  of  the 
War  Department  a  statement  of  the  Adjutant-General  of 
Massachusetts  that  you  are  the  mother  of  five  sons  who 
have  died  gloriously  on  the  field  of  battle.  I  feel  how 
weak  and  fruitless  must  be  any  words  of  mine  which 
should  attempt  to  beguile  you  from  the  grief  of  a  loss  so 
overwhelming.  But  I  cannot  refrain  from  tendering  to 
you  the  consolation  that  may  be  found  in  the  thanks  of 
the  Republic  they  died  to  save.  I  pray  that  our  heavenly 
Father  may  assuage  the  anguish  of  your  bereavement, 
and  leave  you  only  the  cherished  memory  of  the  loved 
and  lost,  and  the  solemn  pride  that  must  be  yours  to  have 
laid  so  costly  a  sacrifice  upon  the  altar  of  freedom. 
Yours  very  sincerely  and  respectfully, 

ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 


70  ]        Abraham  Lincoln  and  His  Books 
LETTER  TO  His  DYING  FATHER 

January  12,  1851 

[This  letter,  addressed  to  Lincoln's  step-brother,  John  D.  Johnston, 
was  sent  on  receipt  of  the  news  that  Thomas  Lincoln,  Abraham's  father, 
was  very  ill,  and  probably  could  not  recover.  Lincoln  had  been  generous 
in  his  gifts  to  his  father  during  his  declining  years,  and  cared  tenderly 
for  his  step-mother  after  his  father's  death.  Prevented  by  illness  in  his 
own  home  from  going  to  his  father's  bedside,  he  wrote  directing  that  no 
care  or  comfort  for  either  his  father  or  step-mother  should  be  omitted. 
The  closing  part  of  the  letter  is  given  herewith.] 

Springfield,  Illinois,  January  12,  1851. 

DEAR  BROTHER: 

*     *     *     * 

I  sincerely  hope  father  may  recover  his  health;  but  at 
all  events,  tell  him  to  call  upon  and  confide  in  our  great 
and  good  and  merciful  Maker,  who  will  not  turn  away 
from  him  in  any  extremity.  He  notes  the  fall  of  a  spar- 
row, and  numbers  the  hairs  of  our  heads,  and  He  will  not 
forget  the  dying  man  who  puts  his  trust  in  Him.  Say 
to  him  that  if  we  could  meet  now  it  is  doubtful  whether 
it  would  not  be  more  painful  than  pleasant,  but  that  if 
it  be  his  lot  to  go  now,  he  will  soon  have  a  joyous  meeting 
with  many  loved  ones  gone  before,  and  where  the  rest  of 
us,  through  the  help  of  God,  hope  ere  long  to  join  him. 

Write  to  me  again  when  you  receive  this. 
Affectionately, 

A.  LINCOLN. 


PART   III 

A  BIBLIOGRAPHY  OF  BOOKS  IN  PRINT 
RELATING  TO  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN 


A  BIBLIOGRAPHY  OF  BOOKS  IN  PRINT 
RELATING  TO  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN 


BIOGRAPHIES  AND  REMINISCENCES 

Arnold,  Isaac  N. 

"THE  LIFE  OF  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN" — 

A.  C.  McClurg  &  Company $2.00    O. 

The  life  of  the  inimitable  martyred  President  is  here  portrayed  with       <"» 
great  faithfulness  to  detail.    The  style  of  writing  is  fluent,  and  graphic.        • 
Few  men  knew  Lincoln  better  than  did  Judge  Arnold.    The  permanent 
value  of  his  book  rests  upon  the  author's  first-hand  knowledge,  his 
accurate  judgment,  and  his  power  of  analysis. 

Barrett,  J.  H. 

"ABRAHAM  LINCOLN  AND  His  PRESIDENCY" — 

Stewart  &  Kidd  Company.    2  volumes $6.00 

This  book  is  the  product  of  an  interesting  evolution.  Its  germ  was 
a  campaign  biography,  written  by  Dr.  Barrett  in  1860,  after  a  personal 
visit  to  Mr.  Lincoln,  who  thought  himself  unworthy  of  the  attempt  but 
directed  the  author  to  where  the  meagre  material  might  be  found.  In 
1865  the  book  was  extended.  In  1903,  near  the  end  of  a  long  and  useful 
life,  the  author  added  his  gathered  material,  much  of  it  of  large  value, 
and  re-wrote  it  in  two  volumes. 

Barton,  William  E. 

"THE  PATERNITY  OF  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  WAS  HE 
THE  SON  OF  THOMAS  LINCOLN?" — An  essay  on 
the  Chastity  of  Nancy  Hanks. 

George  H.  Doran  Company $4.00 

In  this  new  volume,  the  author  traces  every  rumor  and  report  re- 
lating to  the  question  of  Lincoln's  birth,  assembles  all  the  evidence,  and 
subjects  it  to  the  most  exacting  critical  analysis.  As  a  result  he  has 
arrived  at  the  truth  and  renders  a  judgment  from  which  he  believes 
there  can  be  no  successful  appeal. 

73 


74  ]         Abraham  Lincoln  and  His  Books 

Barton,  William  E. 

"THE  SOUL  OF  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN" — 

George  H.  Doran  Company $4 . 00 

This  study  of  the  development  of  the  intellectual  and  spiritual  life 
of  Lincoln  is  primarily  a  record  of  his  religious  history,  and  is  listed 
under  that  department  in  this  Bibliography.  It  deserves  mention  also 
in  this  biographical  section  as  containing  a  considerable  amount  of 
biographical  data  not  elsewhere  available. 

Bates,  David  Homer 

"LINCOLN  IN  THE  TELEGRAPH  OFFICE" — 

The  Century  Company $3.50 

Intensely  interesting,  rich  in  anecdote,  these  intimate  memories  of 
the  martyr  President's  daily  visits  to  the  War  Department  Telegraph 
Office,  form  a  fresh  and  valuable  contribution  to  enduring  Lincoln 
literature. 

Brooks,  Noah 

"ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  AND  THE  DOWNFALL  OF 
AMERICAN  SLAVERY" — 

G.  P.  Putnam's  Sons $2.50 

"The  work  you  have  prepared  presents  the  events  which  it  narrates, 
while  with  sufficient  fullness,  with  a  compactness  and  interest  which 
could  not  be  surpassed.' '  Robert  L.  Lincoln. 

"Mr.  Brooks  in  earlier  years  was  intimate  with  Abraham  Lincoln, 
and  has  painted  his  portrait  as  he  knew  him.  While  his  materials  have 
been  drawn  largely  from  common  sources,  he  has  used  them  skillfully 
to  set  forth  Lincoln's  character,  and  he  has  made  a  book  that  will  be 
read  with  thrilling  interest  again  and  again." — Boston  Herald. 

Browne,  Francis  F. 

"THE  EVERYDAY  LIFE  OF  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN" — 

G.  P.  Putnam's  Sons $2.50 

The  original  edition  of  this  book  was  published  about  twenty  years 
after  Lincoln's  death,  and  has  continued  to  attract  attention  among  the 
growing  circle  of  Lincoln's  admirers.  This  newer  and  enlarged  edition 
is  of  permanent  value. 

This  book  brings  Lincoln  the  man,  not  Lincoln  the  tradition,  very 
near  to  us.  It  embodies  the  reminiscences  of  over  five  hundred  con- 
temporaries and  friends  of  Lincoln — reminiscences  which  were  gathered 
largely  at  first  hand. 


A  Bibliography  of  Books  in  Print        [  75 

Carr,  Clarke  E. 

"THE  ILLINI:  A  STORY  OP  THE  PRAIRIES" — 

A.  C.  McClurg  &  Company $3.50 

This  book  presents  in  narrative  form  a  reminiscent  and  historical 
account  of  the  life  of  the  author  (Hon.  Clarke  E.  Carr,  a  former  United 
States  Minister  to  Denmark)  in  Illinois  from  1850  up  to  the  time  of  the 
Civil  War.  Among  the  famous  men  he  had  come  into  contact  with  was 
Abraham  Lincoln,  of  whom  he  gives  the  reader  an  intimate,  colorful 
picture.  The  great  man  is  here  presented  as  very  frank,  sincere,  serious, 
modest  and  simple-minded,  and  as  having  impressed  the  good  people  of 
Illinois  with  his  coming  greatness. 

Chapman,  Ervin 

"LATEST  LIGHT  ON  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN  AND  WAR- 
TIME MEMORIES" — 

Fleming  H.  Revell  Company.     2  volumes $5.00 

For  over  fifty  years  the  author  has  been  gathering  and  weaving 
into  a  connected  record,  everything  of  value  regarding  the  Martyr- 
President,  from  Confederate  documents,  war-time  publications,  official 
records,  etc.,  including  material  never  before  published. 

Charnwood,  G.  R.  B.  Lord 
"ABRAHAM  LINCOLN" — 

Henry  Holt  &  Company $3.00 

This  is  perhaps  one  of  the  most  important  biographies  of  Lincoln. 
Its  great  merit  is  the  manner  in  which  the  author  has  skillfully  and 
correctly  drawn  Lincoln's  achievements  against  a  world  background. 
John  Drinkwater  says  of  this  book,  "It  gives  a  masterly  analysis  of 
Lincoln's  career  and  character  and  is,  it  seems  to  me,  a  model  of  what 
the  historian's  work  should  be.' ' 

It  is  by  far  the  best  biography  of  Lincoln  written  in  England;  and 
is  the  acknowledged  basis  of  Drinkwater's  play. 

Chittenden,  Lucius  E. 

"RECOLLECTIONS  OF  PRESIDENT  LINCOLN  AND 
His  ADMINISTRATION" — 

Harper  &  Brothers $3.00 

This  book  belongs  to  the  valuable  class  of  authentic  memorials  of  a 
great  historic  time.  Lincoln  admitted  the  author  to  his  friendship,  and 
occasionally  would  take  refuge  in  his  office  as  a  retreat.  The  book  is  a 
picture  full  of  human  interest  and  sympathy,  that  of  the  weary  man, 
sore  burdened  with  the  cares  of  state,  finding  thus  in  the  inner  room  of 
one  of  the  chief  accountants  of  the  Treasury  the  solitude  he  yearned  for. 


76  ]        Abraham  lAncoln  and  His  Books 

Cowen,  Benjamin  R. 

"ABRAHAM  LINCOLN:  AN  APPRECIATION  BY  ONE 
WHO  KNEW  HIM"— 

Stewart  &  Kidd  Company $1 . 00 

The  personal  element  in  this  Appreciation  gives  it  special  value. 

Crook,  William  H. 

"THROUGH  FIVE  ADMINISTRATIONS" — 

Harper  &  Brothers $2.50 

Colonel  Crook  was  Lincoln's  body-guard  before  and  at  the  time  of  his 
assassination.  He  continued  for  some  time  in  the  capacity  of  a  private 
policeman  for  President  Johnson,  and  during  most  of  Johnson's  adminis- 
tration was  a  clerk  in  the  Executive  Office.  It  is  a  very  human  picture 
that  he  presents  of  every-day  life  in  the  Executive  Mansion.  It  is 
certainly  a  unique  gallery  that  contains  five  of  these  portraits,  including 
such  subjects  as  Lincoln  and  Grant. 

Curtis,  William  Elroy 

"THE  TRUE  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN" — 

J.  B.  Lippincott  Company $2.50 

A  wealth  of  incident  has  been  drawn  upon  by  Mr.  Curtis  in  sketching 
the  career  of  the  great  American.  He  first  treats  of  Lincoln  the  man 
and  his  kindred,  and  then  of  him  in  succession  as  leader  of  the  Spring- 
field bar,  orator,  politician,  President,  commander-in-chief,  emancipator, 
diplomat,  philosopher,  and  of  his  moral  and  religious  beliefs.  There  are 
many  special  incidents  and  bits  of  intimate  knowledge  gathered  from 
various  sources  and  hitherto  unpublished. 

Doster,  W.  E. 

"LINCOLN  AND  EPISODES  OF  THE  CIVIL  WAR" — 

G.  P.  Putnam's  Sons $1.50 

Drinkwater,  John 

"LINCOLN,  THE  WORLD  EMANCIPATOR" — 

Houghton  MifBin  Company.    Boards $1.50 

The  great  success  here  and  abroad  of  John  Drinkwater's  play, 
"Abraham  Lincoln,"  both  on  the  stage  and  in  book  form,  shows  his 
understanding  of  Lincoln's  career  and  his  skill  as  an  interpreter  of 
Lincoln's  real  character.  In  this  uncommonly  readable  and  suggestive 
book,  he  studies  him  from  a  new  angle,  illuminating  qualities  which  make 
him  not  only  the  typical  great  American,  but  perhaps  also  the  prime 
example  of  the  best  characteristics  and  ideals  of  the  Anglo-Saxon  race. 


A  Bibliography  of  Books  in  Print        [  77 

French,  Prof.  C.  W. 

"ABRAHAM    LINCOLN,    THE    EMANCIPATOR"  — 
(American  Reformer  Series). 

Funk  &  Wagnalls  Company  .........................  $1.75 

Short  popular  life  of  Lincoln,  gives  the  main  facts  in  his  career  and  a 
general  idea  of  the  struggle  he  had  to  carry  out  his  purposes.  Does  not 
profess  to  be  a  complete  life  in  any  respect. 

Gilder,  Richard  Watson 

"LINCOLN  THE  LEADER;  AND  LINCOLN'S  GENIUS  FOR 
EXPRESSION"  — 

Houghton  Mifflin  Company  .........................  $1.50 

"No  student  of  Lincoln  has  more  deftly  proved  this  enigma  of  Lin- 
coln's part  and  place  in  American  history,  or  more  clearly  suggested  its 
solution." 

Hapgood,  Norman 

"ABRAHAM  LINCOLN:  A  MAN  OF  THE  PEOPLE"  — 

The  MacMillan  Company  ..........................  $2.50 

Herndon,  William  H.  and  Weik,  Jesse  W. 

"ABRAHAM  LINCOLN"  — 

D.  Appleton  &  Company.    2  volumes  ................  $5.00 

Probably  the  most  intimate  life  of  Lincoln  that  there  is.  The 
authors  are  his  law-partner,  William  H.  Herndon,  and  Herndon's  friend, 
Jesse  W.  Weik.  The  man  is  portrayed  as  he  was,  and  this  complete 
frankness  makes  it  an  illuminating  study  of  Lincoln's  character  and 
personality. 

Hill,  Frederick  Trevor 

"LINCOLN  THE  LAWYER"  — 

The  Century  Company  .............................  $3.00 

Mr.  Hill's  affection  and  reverence  for  Lincoln  add  to  the  charm  of  his 
record,  which  is  based  upon  great  research  and  study.  Rich  in  anecdote 
and  incident  and  in  reproduction  of  portraits  and  documents. 

Hobson,  J.  T. 

"FOOTPRINTS  OF  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN"  — 

The  Otterbein  Press  ................................  $0.50 

The  author  does  not  claim  that  the  book  is  a  biography  of  Lincoln, 
for  many  important  facts  in  his  life  have  been  omitted.  The  object  of 
the  author  was  to  publish  some  facts,  reminiscences,  and  illustrations 
which  have  never  been  published  before. 


,  MASS, 


78  ]         Abraham  Lincoln  and  His  Books 

Ketcham,  Henry 

"THE  LIFE  OF  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN" — (Home 
Library). 

A.  L.  Burt  Company $1 . 25 

This  book  deals  with  the  life  of  Lincoln  beginning  with  his  earliest 
recorded  ancestry — dealing  with  his  boyhood  days,  through  young 
manhood  and  his  whole  political  life  down  to  the  assassination.  It  also 
contains  a  few  testimonies  as  to  the  man  by  Henry  Ward  Beecher,  Noah 
Brooks,  R.  W.  Emerson,  James  Russell  Lowell,  Henry  Waterson  and 
others. 


Levy,  T.  A. 

"LINCOLN,  THE  POLITICIAN" — 

R.  G.  Badger  Company $2. 00 

This  work  covers  the  early,  neglected  period  of  Lincoln's  political  life 
to  show  where  he  got  his  training  and  the  consecration  of  his  powers  to 
the  welfare  of  the  people.  It  is  a  study  of  the  great  statesman  that  is 
timely  and  accomplished  with  clear  discernment  and  discrimination, 
sympathy  and  judgment. 

Morse,  John  T. 

"ABRAHAM    LINCOLN"  —  (American    Statesmen  , 

Series) — 

Houghton  Miffiin  Company.     2  volumes $4. 00 

"As  a  Life  of  Lincoln  it  has  no  competitors;  as  a  political  history  of 
the  Union  side  during  the  Civil  War,  it  is  the  most  comprehensive." — 
Harvard  Graduates'  Magazine. 


Nodal,  E.  S. 

"A  VIRGINIAN  VILLAGE" — 

The  MacMillan  Company $2.00 

^This  book  devotes  a  chapter  to  "Impressions  of  Lincoln,"  going 
intimately  into  phases  of  Lincoln's  character  which  are  indicated  iu  his 
appearance  or  by  his  career.  The  writer  dwells  on  his  peculiar  American- 
ism, illustrated  in  his  humor,  his  penetration,  and  his  mercifulness.  He 
also  discusses  Lincoln's  greatness  as  a  thinker,  speaker  and  man  of 
action,  and  writes  very  interestingly  of  the  human  qualities  of  the 
peculiar  genius  but  very  familiar  figure,  which  have  made  him  better 
understood  than  any  great  character  in  American  history. 


A  Bibliography  of  Books  in  Print        [  79 

Nicolay,  Helen 

"PERSONAL  TRAITS  OF  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN" — 
Eight  illustrations  from  papers  in  Lincoln's 
Own  Handwriting — 

The  Century  Company $3.00 

When  John  G.  Nicolay  began  collecting  material  to  be  used  in  his 
joint  work  with  John  Hay,  "Abraham  Lincoln:  A  History,"  he  began 
also  putting  many  memoranda  into  a  series  of  envelopes  marked  "Per- 
sonal Traits"  meaning  at  the  time  to  make  use  of  this  material  in  the 
work  which  has  come  to  be  recognized  as  the  authoritative  life  of  Lin- 
coln. This  material  in  the  end  was  not  used  in  the  large  life;  and  it 
has  remained  for  John  Nicolay's  daughter  to  work  the  rich  accumulation 
of  years  into  a  volume  in  which  the  every-day  life  at  the  White  House, 
Lincoln's  attitude  toward  money,  his  moral  fibre,  his  relations  to  his 
wife  and  children,  and  many  other  phases  of  Lincoln's  private  life  are 
delightfully  and  illuminatingly  set  forth  in  a  record  whose  interest  will 
endure. 

Nicolay,  John  G. 

"ABRAHAM  LINCOLN" — A  Short  Life  condensed 
from  Nicolay  and  Hay's  Standard  Work. 
"ABRAHAM  LINCOLN:  A  HISTORY" — 

The  Century  Company $4.00 

This  is  the  most  important  and  valuable  single-volume  life  of  Lincoln 
,n  print — a  remarkable  condensation  of  the  ten-volume  work.  For  the 
everyday  use  of  the  busy  man  and  the  student  it  is  unsurpassed. 

Nicolay,  John  G.  and  Hay,  John 

"ABRAHAM  LINCOLN:  A  HISTORY" — The  author- 
ized life  of  Lincoln,  by  his  private  secretaries. 

The  Century  Company.     10  volumes $35.00 

This  monumental  work  is  the  only  full  and  authoritative  record  of 
the  private  life  and  public  career  of  Abraham  Lincoln.  It  is  not  only 
an  intimate  personal  history  of  the  great  War  President,  but  it  also 
includes  an  account  of  the  causes  of  the  Rebellion,  and  is  a  record  at 
first  hand  of  the  inside  history  of  the  Civil  War. 

Oberholtzer,  E.  P. 

"ABRAHAM  LINCOLN" — (American  Crisis  Biogra- 
phies)— 

George  W.  Jacobs  &  Company $1.75 

Hero  worship  has  not  influenced  the  author  in  the  least  degree  in 
drawing  his  picture.  The  truth  is  given  dispassionately,  and  with 


80] 


Abraham  Lincoln  and  His  Books 


exceptional  detachment.  The  book  is  rightly  accounted  as  frank  a 
treatment  of  the  subject  as  has  yet  appeared.  The  failings  as  well  as 
the  strength  in  Lincoln's  character  are  excellently  portrayed  and  a 
balance  is  struck  which  shows  the  man  as  he  really  was. 

Phillips,  Isaac  N.  (Editor) 

"ABRAHAM  LINCOLN" — By  the  Men  Who  Knew 
Him— 

Pantagraph  Company $1 . 50 

A  book  of  recollections  by  the  following  men:  Judge  Owen  T. 
Reeves,  Hon.  James  S.  Ewing,  Col.  Richard  P.  Morgan,  Judge  Franklin 
Blades,  Hon.  John  W.  Bunn,  Isaac  N.  Phillips. 

This  is  an  intimate  and  valuable  collection,  available  in  a  small 
edition  only. 

Putnam,  George  Haven 

"THE  PEOPLE'S  LEADER  IN  THE  STRUGGLE  FOR 
NATIONAL  EXISTENCE" — 

G.  P.  Putnam's  Sons $1.50 

With  the  above  is  included  the  speech  delivered  by  Lincoln  in  New 
York,  February  27th,  1860;  with  an  introduction  by  Charles  C.  Nott, 
late  Chief  Justice  of  the  Court  of  Claims,  and  annotations  by  Judge 
Nott  and  by  Cephas  Brainerd,  of  the  New  York  Bar. 

Rankin,  Henry  B. 

"PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS  OF  ABRAHAM 
LINCOLN"  —  Introduction  by  Joseph  Fort 
Newton — 

G.  P.  Putnam's  Sons $2.50 

Illustrated  with  portraits  in  photogravure.  The  total  impression 
given  by  this  book  is  such  a  sense  of  the  living  Lincoln,  of  his  growth 
and  ripening  of  character,  of  his  commanding  personality,  and  genius, 
as  is  to  be  found  hardly  anywhere  else. 

Rice,  Allen  Thorndike  (Editor) 

"REMINISCENCES  OF  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN" — 

Harper  &  Brothers $2.00 

These  papers  are  by  the  distinguished  men  of  Lincoln's  time.  Among 
them  are  Grant,  Benjamin  F.  Butler,  Henry  Ward  Beecher,  Walt  Whit- 
man, Dana,  Ingersoll,  and  Frederick  Douglass.  Here  are  recollections 
of  lawyers  who  rode  the  Illinois  circuit  with  Lincoln,  pictures  of  Lincoln 
as  the  Executive,  Lincoln  in  the  Cabinet,  Lincoln  in  the  midst  of  the 
war,  Lincoln  at  Gettysburg,  Lincoln  a  man  among  men. 


A  Bibliography  of  Books  in  Print        [  81 

Richards,  John  Thomas 

"ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  THE  LAWYER,  STATESMAN" — 

Houghton  Mifflin  Company $4 . 00 

"Of  the  many  books  devoted  to  the  life  and  works  of  Abraham  Lin- 
coln, none  makes  a  larger  claim  upon  the  world's  attention  than  this." 

— Boston  Transcript. 
Rothschild,  Alonzo 

"LINCOLN,  MASTER  OF  MEN:  A  STUDY  IN 
CHARACTER" — 

Houghton  Mifflin  Company $3 . 75 

This  notable  biography — called  by  Robert  Lincoln  the  best  life  of 
his  father  he  had  ever  read — is  concerned  particularly  with  Lincoln's 
later  life  and  with  his  mastery  over  different  types  of  men  as  well  as 
over  himself. 

Rothschild,  Alonzo 

"HONEST  ABE  :    A  STUDY  IN  INTEGRITY" — 

Houghton  Mifflin  Company $3.00 

A  specially  fine  study  for  parents,  and  for  young  men  who  are  just 
entering  upon  world  life,  as  it  shows  how  integrity  and  honesty  tend  to 
the  development  of  strong,  dependable  men. 

^churz,  Carl 

'ABRAHAM  LINCOLN:    AN  ESSAY" — New  Edition. 
Preface  by  Calvin  Coolidge — 

Houghton  Mifflin  Company $1 . 50 

Of  this  famous  study  of  Abraham  Lincoln,  Governor  Coolidge  says: 
"This  essay  of  Mr.  Schurz  is  written  by  one  who  knew  his  subject  at 
first  hand.  It  represents  the  thought  of  one  who  had  seen  the  great 
conflict  through  the  perspective  of  more  than  a  quarter  of  a  century  of 
deliberation.  Its  great  value  is  in  the  fact  that  in  addition  to  being 
short,  complete  and  accurate,  it  represents  the  practical  side  of  the  man. 
It  portrays  the  real  man.' ' 

Selby,  Paul 

"LINCOLN'S  LIFE  STORIES  AND  SPEECHES" — 

Stanton  &  Van  Vliet  Company $1.00 

Including  stories  of  Lincoln's  early  life,  stories  of  Lincoln  as  lawyer, 
presidential  incidents,  stories  of  the  war,  etc.  The  Hon.  Paul  _Selby, 
personal  friend  of  Lincoln,  has  written  the  biography  contained  in  this 
book. 


Yov, 
Af       oo 


-  A 

* 


82  ]         Abraham  Lincoln  and  His  Books 

Sheppard,  R.  D. 

"THE  LIFE  OF  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN" — 

Laird  &  Lee $0.75 

Contains  the  Famous  Gettysburg  and  Springfield  Addresses.  Pa- 
thetic Letter  to  the  Mother  of  Five  Sons  Slain  in  Battle,  and  many 
well  known  sayings,  characteristics,  and  chronology  of  the  life  of  one 
of  America's  most  famous  sons. 


Shirley,  R. 

"SHORT  LIFE  OF  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN" — 

Funk  &  Wagnalls  Company $1.25 

Short  popular  life  of  Lincoln.  Gives  main  facts  in  his  career  and  a 
general  idea  of  the  struggle  he  had  to  carry  out  his  purposes.  The 
volume  contains  a  few  quotations  from  letters  and  state  documents. 

The  author  is  a  Member  of  Parliament;  and  his  book  is  one  of  the 
recent  expressions  of  England's  growing  honor  for  Lincoln. 


Snider,  Dr.  Denion  J. 

'THE  AMERICAN  TEN  YEARS'  WAR  1855-1865"— 

The  William  Harvey  Miner  Company,  Inc $2.00 

This  book  gives  the  complete  historic  setting  of  Lincoln's  national 
career,  which  was  the  Civil  War  in  its  entirety,  lasting  not  four  but  ten 
years  from  the  first  Kansas  fight  till  Appomattox.  This  outline  is  the 
History  of  the  Nation  in  its  supreme  struggle,  showing  Lincoln's  political 
environment  and  opportunity. 


Snider,  Dr.  Denion  J. 

"ABRAHAM  LINCOLN:    A  BIOGRAPHY" — 

The  William  Harvey  Miner  Company,  Inc $2.00 

The  present  book  is  a  new  biographic  construction  of  Lincoln's  life, 
following  closely  the  documents  but  at  the  same  time  keeping  before 
the  reader's  mind  the  internal  or  psychical  thread  which  runs  through 
all  the  external  happenings  of  Lincoln's  varied  career. 


Stevens,  C.  M. 

"THE  WONDERFUL  STORY  OF  LINCOLN" — 

Cupples  &  Leon  Company $1 . 25 


A  Bibliography  of  Books  in  Print        [  83 

Tarbett,  Ida  M. 

"LIFE  OF  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN" — New  revised  edi- 
tion— 

The  MacMillan  Company.     2  volumes $6.00 

This  is  a  very  complete  life  of  Lincoln,  remarkable  for  its  presenta- 
tion of  contemporary  impression  and  comment.  A  vast  amount  of 
intimate  personal  material  was  used  in  the  preparation  of  this  work, 
which  aims  to  depict  Lincoln  the  man,  as  seen  by  his  fellows  and  revealed 
by  his  own  acts  and  words. 

Thompson,  David  D. 

"ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  THE  FIRST  AMERICAN" — 

Abingdon  Press $1 . 00 

Anecdotes  and  incidents  presenting  various  phases  of  Lincoln's  life. 

Whipple,  Wayne 

"THE  STORY  OF  YOUNG  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN" — 

Henry  Altemus  Company $1 . 25 

Whipple,  Wayne 

"THE  STORY-LIFE  OF  LINCOLN" — 

The  John  C.  Winston  Company $2.50 

From  every  authoritative  source  has  been  selected  the  best-told 
story  of  every  event  in  Lincoln's  life,  arranged  in  proper  order  and 
forming  his  complete  and  connected  biography  from  his  birth  to  his 
martyrdom.  The  book  contains  over  600  true  stories  told  by  Lincoln 
or  by  his  friends  about  him. 

Whipple,  Wayne 

"THE  HEART  OF  LINCOLN" — 

George  W.  Jacobs  &  Company $0.75 

An  intimate  study  of  the  life  and  character  of  Abraham  Lincoln, 
portrayed  in  a  series  of  anecdotes  and  reminiscence  sympathetically  told. 

Whitlock,  Brand 

"ABRAHAM  LINCOLN" — 

Small  Mayard  &  Company $1 .00 

Same  in  (Beacon  Biographies) 75 

Through  simplicity  and  directness  of  style,  and  emphasis  on  the 
human  side  of  Lincoln,  the  appeal  is  so  direct  that  younger  readers  can- 
not fail  to  find  this  a  "good  book." 


84  ]         Abraham  Lincoln  and  His  Books 

LINCOLN'S  WORKS 

Carmichael,  0.  H. 

"LINCOLN'S  GETTYSBURG  ADDRESS"  illustrated. 

Abingdon  Press $1 . 00 

A  vivid  and  historically  accurate  account  of  the  writing  and  delivery 
of  that  classic  of  all  times.  The  whole  occasion  is  made  to  pass  in 
review  before  us — a  thing  of  life  and  movement.  And  those  who  love 
and  understand  are  made  deeply  conscious  that  in  this  world-known 
address  Abraham  Lincoln  revealed  the  central  motive  and  ideal  of  his 
life,  and  that  through  it  he  voiced  the  message  of  America  to  the  world. 

Lincoln,  Abraham 

"WRITINGS  OF  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN" — 

G.  P.  Putnam's  Sons.     8  volumes $25 . 00 

Writings.  Including  the  full  text  of  the  Lincoln-Douglas  Debates 
together  with  the  Essay  on  Lincoln,  by  Carl  Schurz,  the  Address  on 
Lincoln,  by  Joseph  H.  Choate,  and  the  Life  of  Lincoln,  by  Noah  Brooks. 
Edited  by  Arthur  Brooks  Lapsley. 

With  an  Introduction  by  Theodore  Roosevelt. 

Although  the  works  of  Lincoln  are  recognized  as  deserving  a  high 
place  in  American  literature,  no  previous  attempt  has  been  made  to 
present  them  in  a  handsome  library  edition. 

The  Writings  of  Lincoln  cover  his  public  addresses,  letters,  and  other 
documents,  together  with  a  large  number  of  more  personal  letters  and 
speeches. 

Lincoln,  Abraham 

"LINCOLN'S  SPEECHES  AND  WRITINGS" — Selections 
from  the  public  speeches  and  writings  of 
Abraham  Lincoln.  Edited  by  L.  E.  Chittenden. 

Dodd  Mead  &  Company $1 . 50 

No  more  valuable  contribution  to  an  accurate  knowledge  of  the 
martyred  President  could  be  made  than  a  proper  selection  from  his 
speeches  and  writings  in  a  single  volume  of  convenient,  readable  form. 
After  a  thorough  study  of  Mr.  Lincoln's  intellectual  life,  from  its  com- 
mencement to  its  close,  Mr.  Chittenden  has  prepared  such  a  volume. 

Lincoln,  Abraham 

"His  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  IN  FACSIMILE" — 

The  Misses  Fell $2.50 

Lincoln's  brief  autobiography  was  written  in  1859,  at  the  request  of 
Jesse  W.  Fell.  His  daughters  publish  this  limited  edition  in  facsimile 
made  direct  from  the  original. 


A  Bibliography  of  Books  in  Print        [  85 

Lincoln,  Abraham 

"COMPLETE  WORKS" — Comprising  his  speeches, 
letters,  state  papers  and  miscellaneous  writings. 
Edited  by  his  private  secretaries,  John  G.  Nico- 
lay  and  John  Hay — 

The  Century  Company.     2  volumes $12.00 

This  is  the  story  of  the  martyred  President's  life  written  by  himself, 
as  found  in  his  speeches,  letters,  state  papers  and  miscellaneous  writings, 
including  his  private  correspondence;  speeches  on  the  stump,  in  Congress 
and  elsewhere;  the  great  Lincoln-Douglas  debates  in  full;  all  his  messages 
and  proclamations;  his  letters  to  generals;  all  his  state  papers,  memo- 
randa, etc.,  prepared  from  original  sources — the  whole  being  a  complete 
record  of  Lincoln's  career. 

Lincoln,  Abraham 

"GETTYSBURG  ORATION  AND  FIRST  AND  SECOND 
INAUGURAL  ADDRESSES" — 

Duffield  &  Company.     Rubric  Series $0. 75 

Lincoln,  Abraham 

"SPEECHES" — Including  Inaugurals  and  Proclam- 
ations. Edited  by  G.  M.  Adam — 

A.  L.  Burt  Company.     (Burt  Home  Library) $1 . 25 

This  book  includes,  besides  the  speeches,  inaugurals,  addresses, 
various  proclamations  and  the  annual  messages  to  Congress. 

Lincoln,  Abraham 

"IDEALS  OF  THE  REPUBLIC"  Series.  Inaugural 
and  Gettysburg  Addresses — 

G.  P.  Putnam's  Sons $1-25 

Lincoln,  Abraham 

"SPEECHES  AND  LETTERS  OF  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN" 
from  1832-1865.  Edited  by  Merwin  Roe,  with 
an  introduction  by  James  Bryce.  Everyman's 
Library — 

E.  P.  Button  &  Co.    Cloth $1.00 

Flexible  Leather 2.00 

The  object  of  this  volume  is  to  make  Lincoln  known  by  his  works 
as  he  is  known  to  students  of  history  by  his  deeds.  The  period  covered 
is  from  1832  to  1865. 


86] 


Abraham  Lincoln  and  His  Books 


Lincoln  and  Douglas 

"LINCOLN-DOUGLAS  DEBATES*' — 

G.  P.  Putnam's  Sons $2. 50 

The  Political  Debates  between  Abraham  Lincoln  and  Stephen  A. 
Douglas  in  the  Senatorial  Campaign  of  1858  in  Illinois.  Introduction 
by  George  Haven  Putnam. 

A  definitive  and  accurate  edition  of  these  famous  debates  which 
paved  the  way  of  Lincoln  to  the  Presidency. 

Tracy,  G.  A. 

"UNCOLLECTED  LETTERS  OF  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN 
Now  FIRST  BROUGHT  TOGETHER,  WITH  AN 
INTRODUCTION  BY  IDA  M.  TARBELL" — 

Houghton  Mifflin  Company $3. 50 

Same,  large  paper 5 . 00 

A  collection  of  nearly  three  hundred  letters,  many  of  them  of  decided 
historical  value.  "The  whole  collection  is  rich  in  material  which  will 
delight  the  student  of  Lincoln."  — N.  Y.  Tribune. 

Wanamaker,  R.  M. 

"THE  VOICE  OF  LINCOLN" — 

Charles  Scribner's  Sons $2. 50 

This  book  is  not  so  much  an  exposition  of  Lincoln's  character  and 
genius  by  another  as  a  revelation  of  his  character  and  genius  by  himself. 
Judge  Wanamaker  has  selected  with  skill  and  insight  those  utterances 
of  Lincoln's,  bis  letters,  conversations,  and  speeches,  which  are  keys  to 
the  different  sides  of  his  great  nature  and  uncover  the  springs  of  his 
conduct  and  his  greatness  of  mind  and  spirit.  These  utterances  are 
accompanied  by  a  narrative  text  which  supplies  a  full  understanding 
of  their  biographical  and  historical  significance. 


LINCOLN'S  STORIES  AND  EPIGRAMS 

Gross,  Anthony 

"LINCOLN'S  OWN  STORIES" — 

Harper  &  Brothers $1.75 

For  many  years  the  author,  an  enthusiastic  student  of  Lincoln's  life, 
collected  and  verified  the  best  of  the  stories  told  by  Lincoln  and  about 
Lincoln.  These  stories  have  been  carefully  arranged,  and  the  remarkable 
collection  which  is  the  result  is  presented  in  a  book  of  engrossing  interest 
in  its  humor  and  pathos,  and  its  illumination  of  historic  characters  and 
events. 


A  Bibliography  of  Books  in  Print        [  87 

Hobson,  J.  T. 

"THE  LINCOLN  YEAB  BOOK" — 

The  Otterbein  Press $1 . 25 

This  book  provides  readings  for  each  day  in  the  year.  For  each  day 
there  is  a  verse  of  Scripture,  an  extract  from  some  speech  or  writing  of 
Lincoln,  and  a  poetical  selection.  The  book  also  contains  a  complete 
index  to  the  selected  topics,  index  to  the  poetical  verses  and  selections 
and  to  the  Scripture  quotations. 

McClure,  Alexander  K.t  LL.D. 

"LINCOLN'S  OWN  YARNS  AND  STORIES" — 

The  John  C.  Winston  Company $1.50 

In  this  book  are  gathered  all  the  authentic  yarns,  stories,  anecdotes, 
witty  sayings  and  jokes  told  by  Abraham  Lincoln.  These  stories  are 
full  of  homely  wit  and  humor  that  appeal  to  every  reader. 

Oldroyd,  Osborn  H.  (Compiler) 

"WORDS  OF  LINCOLN"  with  an  introduction  by 
Melville  W.  Fuller,  Chief  Justice  of  the  United 
States — 

Osborn  H.  Oldroyd $1.00 

"Words  of  Lincoln"  is  replete  with  extracts  from  his  eloquent 
speeches,  making  the  book  a  valuable  aid  for  recitations  in  schools  on 
anniversaries  of  Lincoln's  birthday.  Alexander  H.  Rice,  former  Gover- 
nor of  Massachusetts,  says:  "They  will  be,  to  those  who  read  and 
remember  them,  of  more  value  than  so  many  ingots  of  gold." 

Pratt,  Silas  G. 

"LINCOLN  IN  STORY" — 

D.  Appleton  &  Company $1.50 

The  Life  of  Lincoln  told  in  authenticated  anecdotes,  chronologically 
arranged.  A  unique  and  striking  picture  of  the  man  stands  out  in  these 
narratives.  A  happy  thought,  to  show  him  almost,  as  it  were,  at  first 
hand. 

Scott,  Temple  (Editor) 

"THE  WISDOM  OF  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN" — 

Brentano's $1.50 

"The  Wisdom  of  Abraham  Lincoln"  contains  excerpts  from  Lincoln's 
speeches  and  views.  A  book  of  Lincoln  quotations  to  show  his  wisdom. 


88  ]         Abraham  Lincoln  and  His  Books 

Whipple,  Wayne  (Editor) 

"ABRAHAM  LINCOLN'S  DON'TS" — Selected  and 
arranged — 

Henry  Altemus  Company $0.60 

Williams,  Henry  Llewellyn  (Collector  and  Editor) 

"LINCOLNICS" — Stories  and  Sayings — 

G.  P.  Putnam's  Sons $1 . 25 

They  form  a  sensible  "constant-companion,"  a  perpetual  fount  of 
mirth  and  wisdom.  Many  of  these  anecdotes  have  won  a  permanent 
place  in  American  oratory  and  humor. 


RELIGION  OF  LINCOLN 

Barton,  William  E. 

"THE  SOUL  OF  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN" — 

George  H.  Doran  Company $4 . 00 

After  a  lifetime  of  devoted  study,  Dr.  Barton  has  written  what  may 
justly  be  called  a  definitive  account  of  the  ethical  convictions  and  the 
spiritual  life  of  the  great  president.  He  has  succeeded  in  reconstructing 
an  historical  setting  for  the  growth  of  Lincoln's  religious  ideas,  which 
not  only  passes  the  strictest  test  of  known  fact,  but  adds  as  well  several 
important  items  to  our  knowledge  of  a  personality  of  abiding  interest. 

Beardslee,  C.  S. 

"ABRAHAM  LINCOLN'S  CARDINAL  TRAITS" — 

R.  G.  Badger  Company $2.00 

Everything  regarding  Abraham  Lincoln  is  of  interest.  This  study 
of  the  religious  and  moral  side  of  his  character  takes  a  line  that  has  not 
before  been  followed.  It  is,  therefore,  of  special  interest. 

Grierson,  Francis 

"ABRAHAM  LINCOLN:    THE  PRACTICAL  MYSTIC" — 

John  Lane  Company $1 . 00 

The  careful  study  given  by  Mr.  Grierson  to  the  life  of  Lincoln,  which 
resulted  in  the  writing  of  "The  Valley  of  Shadows,"  will  be  equally 
apparent  in  this  present  volume,  which  depicts  faithfully  the  spiritual 
atmosphere  in  which  Lincoln  lived  and  moved,  thought  and  worked. 


A  Bibliography  of  Books  in  Print        [  89 

Hobson,  J.  T. 

"THE  MASTER  AND  His  SERVANT" — 

The  Otterbein  Press $0.50 

This  book  contains  comparative  outline  sketches  of  "The  Redeemer 
of  Mankind — Christ,  and  The  Emancipator  of  a  Race — Abraham 
Lincoln.''  The  aim  of  the  author  is  to  show  how  the  Christ-life  is 
reflected  in  the  life  of  Lincoln. 

Jackson,  S.  Trevena 

"LINCOLN'S  USE  OF  THE  BIBLE" — 

Abingdon  Press.     Paper $0. 35 

A  collection  of  interesting  facts,  showing  the  value  of  the  Bible  in 
Lincoln's  life. 

Johnson,  William  J. 

"ABRAHAM  LINCOLN  THE  CHRISTIAN" — Illustrated. 

Abingdon  Press $1.50 

This  is  a  careful  and  painstaking  study  of  the  development  of  Mr. 
Lincoln's  religious  life.  The  study  is  carried  through  on  chronological 
lines  and  is  thoroughly  well  done.  The  citations  are  from  accredited 
books  and  original  documents. 

Scovill,  Jr.,  Samuel 

"ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  His  STORY" — 

American  Sunday-School  Union $0 . 60 

The  volume  was  written  with  the  idea  of  bringing  out  the  trust  in 
God  exhibited  by  the  life  and  work  of  this  American  leader. 

Tarbell,  Ida  M. 

"!N  LINCOLN'S  CHAIR" — 

The  MacMillan  Company $1.00 

"In  Lincoln's  Chair"  deals  particularly  with  Lincoln's  religious 
views,  his  attitude  toward  God,  and  his  consequent  sense  of  responsi- 
bility and  duty. 


90  ]         Abraham  Lincoln  and  His  Books 

LECTURES,  ADDRESSES  AND  MISCELLANEOUS 

Bancroft,  George 

"OUR  MARTYR  PRESIDENT,  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN" — 
Oration.  (With  Bishop  Matthew  Simpson  and 
R.  S  Storrs,  Jr.) — 

Abingdon  Press $1 . 50 

Every  lover  of  Lincoln  will  welcome  this  reissue  of  the  more  important 
addresses  delivered  in  the  shadow  of  the  nation's  great  bereavement. 

Burrage,  Henry  S. 

"GETTYSBURG  AND  LINCOLN" — 

G.  P.  Putnam's  Sons $1.50 

The  records  of  the  Battle,  the  Park,  the  Cemetery,  and  the  Lincoln 
Address. 

Carr,  Clarice  E. 

"LINCOLN  AT  GETTYSBURG" — 

A.  C.  McClurg  &  Company $1.25 

This  book,  of  a  little  more  than  a  hundred  pages,  gives  a  vivid, 
accurate,  and  interesting  account  of  the  circumstances  and  events 
centering  about  the  dedication  of  "The  Soldiers'  National  Cemetery" 
at  Gettysburg  in  1863.  It  gives  the  interested  reader,  as  well  as  the 
student,  an  authentic  version  of  the  preparation,  delivery  and  reception 
of  the  famous  Gettysburg  Address. 

Carr,  Clarke  E. 

"STEPHEN  A.  DOUGLAS" — 

A.  C.  McClurg  &  Company $2.50 

This  book,  although  devoted  to  a  discussion  of  the  noble  life  and 
splendid  work  of  Stephen  A.  Douglas,  "The  Little  Giant,"  whose  name 
is  so  prominently  linked  with  that  of  Abraham  Lincoln — contains  a  6ne 
appreciation  of  the  modest,  manly  qualities  and  forensic  ability  of  the 
martyred  President.  The  last  fourteen  chapters  reveal  some  very 
interesting,  first-hand  pen-pictures  of  Lincoln  and  the  stirring  times 
beginning  with  his  utterance  of  the  statement  "This  government  cannot 
endure  permanently  half  slave  and  half  free — it  must  become  all  one 
thing  or  all  the  other,"  and  going  through  the  famous  Lincoln-Douglas 
debates  to  the  time  when  it  was  solid  North  against  solid  South. 


A  Bibliography  of  Books  in  Print        [  91 

Choate,  Joseph  H. 

"ABRAHAM  LINCOLN" — 

T.  Y.  Crowell  &  Company $0.50 

This  is  the  authorized  version  of  the  inaugural  address  delivered  by 
the  American  Ambassador  at  the  Court  of  St.  James  before  the  Edin- 
burgh Philosophical  Institution  on  November  18th,  1900. 

Dittenhoefer,  A.  J. 

"How  WE  ELECTED  LINCOLN" — 

Harper  &  Brothers $0.90 

Herndon,  William  H. 

"ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  Miss  ANN  RUTLEDGE,  NEW 
SALEM,  PIONEERING,  AND  THE  POEM" — 

H.  E.  Barker $5. 00 

The  lecture  that  forms  the  kernel  of  all  the  love-stories  about  Lincoln 
and  Ann  Rutledge.  A  tall,  octavo  volume,  in  edition  limited  to  150 
signed  copies. 

Lamed,  /.  N. 

"A  STUDY  OF  GREATNESS  IN  MEN" — 

Houghton  Miffiin  Company $1 . 75 

Mr.  Lamed  has  made  a  most  enlightening  study  of  the  elements  of 
greatness  in  Napoleon,  Cromwell,  Washington  and  Lincoln,  and  of  the 
degree  in  which  they  merit  the  respect  of  posterity.  His  conclusions  are 
unusual  and  highly  interesting. 

Learned,  Marion  Dexter 

"ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  AN  AMERICAN  MIGRATION: 
FAMILY  ENGLISH  NOT  GERMAN" — 

William  J.  Campbell $2.50 

McLaughlin,  Robert  W. 

'WASHINGTON  AND  LINCOLN" — 

G.  P.  Putnam's  Sons $1.35 

Washington  and  Lincoln,  leaders  of  the  nation  in  the  constitutional 

eras  of  American  history. 

The  aim  of  the  writer  is  to  show  the  similarity  of  the  work  they  did 

in  the  field  of  governmental  action. 


92  ]         Abraham  Lincoln  and  His  Books 

Newton,  Joseph  Fort 

"LINCOLN  AND  HERNDON" — 

The  Torch  Press $3.00 

A  book  that  deals  with  the  personal  and  political  fellowship  of 
Abraham  Lincoln  and  his  law  partner,  William  H.  Herndon.  It  shows 
the  influence  of  one  upon  the  other  as  they  worked  out  together,  in  the 
Springfield  law  office,  the  solution  of  the  problem  that  was  to  rend  the 
nation. 

Oldroyd,  Osborn  H. 

"THE  ASSASSINATION  OF  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN"  with 
an  introduction  by  Bvt.  Maj.  Gen.  T.  M. 
Harris — 

Osborn  H.  Oldroyd $1.25 

This  book  is  accepted  as  the  true  history  of  the  assassination,  also  of 
the  flight,  pursuit,  capture,  trial  and  punishment  of  the  conspirators. 
Contains  82  half-tone  illustrations. 

Pillsbury,  Albert  E. 

"LINCOLN  AND  SLAVERY" — 

Houghton  Mifflin  Company $1 . 25 

"With  wonderful  wit  Mr.  Pillsbury  has  portrayed  the  real  Lincoln. 

One  cannot  easily  escape  the  impression  left  by  the  intense 

concentration  and  literary  splendor  of  this  remarkable  interpretation." 

Roberts,  Octavia 

"LINCOLN  IN  ILLINOIS" — Profusely  illustrated  by 
Lester  G.  Hornby — 

Houghton  Mifflin  Company.     Special  limited  edition. . .  $6 . 00 

The  author  of  this  notable  book,  a  native  of  Springfield,  Illinois,  has 
recently  obtained  a  manuscript  diary  kept  by  a  neighbor  of  Lincoln 
during  his  Springfield  life,  which  contains  many  vivid  pen  pictures  of  the 
President.  Prom  this  material  and  from  her  own  memories  and  in- 
vestigations, she  has  constructed  a  most  interesting,  readable,  and 
illuminating  book. 

Robinson,  L.  E. 

"ABRAHAM  LINCOLN  AS  A  MAN  OF  LETTERS" — 

Reilly  &  Lee  Company $1.50 

Professor  Robinson's  scholarly  work  is  the  first  book  to  study  Lin- 
coln's wonderful  growth  in  power  of  literary  expression.  The  Bible, 


A  Bibliography  of  Books  in  Print        [  93 

Shakespeare  and  Blackstone  are  shown  to  have  been  Lincoln's  three  great 
sources  of  inspiration.  The  book  is  rich  in  references  of  value  to  the 
student.  The  generous  appendix  embraces  all  of  the  Great  Emanci- 
pator's most  famous  addresses,  letters  and  state  papers. 

Stryker,  M.  W. 

"ABRAHAM  LINCOLN" — 

M.  W.  Stryker ; $3.00 

Three  addresses  given  variously. 

Welles,  Gideon 

"THE  DIARY  OF" — With  an  introduction  by  John 
T.  Morse,  Jr.— 

Houghton  Mifflin  Company.     3  volumes $15 . 00 

This  diary  takes  us  behind  the  scenes  of  the  crucial  decade  of  our 
National  history. 

Gideon  Welles,  Secretary  of  the  Navy  in  Lincoln's  Cabinet,  was  a 
keen,  clear-sighted,  shrewd  statesman,  with  wide  experience  in  public 
life.  Through  the  intimate  pages  of  his  journal,  written  day  by  day  in 
war-time  and  years  after,  we  get  the  daily  history  of  the  conduct  of  the 
war  from  the  point  of  view  of  the  administration. 

Wilsori>  Henry 

"RISE    AND    FALL    OF   THE    SLAVE    POWER    IN 
AMERICA" — 

Houghton  Mifflin  Company.     3  volumes $10.00 

"This  historical  work  is  of  the  highest  class  of  that  literature  to 
which  it  belongs,  the  class,  that  is  to  say,  which  is  made  up  of  histories 
produced  by  great  actors  in  great  events,  and  it  is  so  in  a  very  special 


Wing,  Henry  E. 

"WHEN  LINCOLN  KISSED  ME" — 

Abingdon  Press.     Paper $0. 35 

This  is  a  short  story  of  the  author's  adventures  as  a  war  correspond- 
ent. He  was  selected  to  get  through  the  enemies'  line  and  carry  a 
message  from  General  Grant  to  President  Lincoln.  He  succeeded,  after 
a  number  of  thrilling  adventures  and  narrow  escapes. 


94  ]         Abraham  Lincoln  and  His  Books 

FICTION 

Altsheler,  J.  A. 

"!N  CIRCLING  CAMPS" — 

D.  Appleton  &  Company $1 . 75 

"From  the  election  of  Lincoln  to  the  surrender  of  Lee:  Gettysburg 
is  a  big  battle  piece.' '  — Baker. 

Andrews,  Mary  Raymond  Shipman 
"THE  PERFECT  TRIBUTE" — 

JJO  Charles  Scribner's  Sons.     Boards $0.75 

,V  •  "A  wonderful  story  of  Lincoln  and  his  Gettysburg  speech,  one  of 

the  greatest  stories  of  recent  years.' '  — N.  Y.  Times. 

Andrews,  Mary  Raymond  Shipman 
*i£  "THE  COUNSEL  ASSIGNED" — 

^ ,         •  Charles  Scribner's  Sons.     Boards $0 . 75 

As  Mrs.  Andrews  presented  Abraham  Lincoln,  the  President,  in  her 
famous  "The  Perfect  Tribute,"  so  now  she  presents  Lincoln,  the  young 
Lawyer.  She  shows  him  turning  his  back  on  a  great  personal  opportu- 
nity in  answer  to  a  request  for  help  from  those  who  had  helped  him; 
shows  him  in  court,  shrewd,  rugged,  eloquent,  his  own  ambition  sub- 
merged in  the  defense  of  a  boy  on  trial  for  murder,  whose  parents  had 
once  given  him  a  home. 

Babcock,  Bernie 

"THE  SOUL  OF  ANN  RUTLEDGE" — 

J.  B.  Lippincott  Company $1 . 75 

The  story  of  Abraham  Lincoln's  romantic  attachment  for  Ann  Rut- 
ledge  and  its  moulding  power  on  his  after-life  is  now  for  the  first  time 
adequately  told  in  this  remarkable  novel. 

Bacheller,  Irving  A. 

"A  MAN  FOR  THE  AGES" — 

The  Bobbs-Merrill  Company $2. 00 

Same  DeLuxe  edition.     Boards 5 . 00 

Same  DeLuxe  edition.     Half-Leather 7 . 50 

"A  Man  for  the  Ages  is  an  inspiring  sort  of  book  to  read,  in  addition 
to  being  interesting:  and  it  does  make  Abraham  Lincoln  an  approach- 
able, near-at-hand  person." 


A  Bibliography  of  Books  in  Print        [  95 

Bachetter,  Irving  A. 

"EBEN  HOLDEN:    A  TALE  OF  THE  NORTH  COUN- 
TRY".    Popular  copyright  edition — 

Grosset  and  Dunlap $1 . 00 

A  novel  of  life  in  the  Adirondacks  fifty  years  ago,  introducing  Horace 
Greeley  and  Abraham  Lincoln.  Interest  centers  in  the  faithful  old 
servant,  Eben  Holden,  who  is  lovingly  drawn.  Life  in  the  woods  and 
fields  is  depicted  with  no  little  charm.  — Baker. 

Bullard,  F.  L. 

"TAD  AND  His  FATHER"— 

Little  Brown  &  Company $1 .00 

A  study  of  the  Home  Life  of  Abraham  Lincoln. 

Chittenden,  Lucius  E. 

"LINCOLN  AND  THE  SLEEPING  SENTINEL" — 

Harper  &  Brothers $0.75 

This  is  the  original  story.  The  main  incident  of  it  has  been  told 
with  varying  details  in  many  versions.  This  is  the  telling  of  the  deed 
by  one  who  shared  in  the  doing. 

Churchill,  Winston 
"THE  CRISIS"— 

The  MacMillan  Company $2.00 

The  Same — Popular  Copyright  Series — 

Grosset  &  Dunlap 1 . 00 

"A  painstaking  study  of  the  Civil  War  and  its  causes  (1860-1865) 
scene  chiefly  St.  Louis.  The  fierce  political  movements  of  the  time 
personified  in  a  representative  set  of  characters.  Lincoln,  Grant  and 
Sherman  appear;  while  the  lovers  are  a  Yankee  and  a  Southern  Lady. 
—Baker. 

Daviess,  Maria  Thompson 
"THE  MATRIX"— 

The  Century  Company $1.75 

A  charming,  colorful  romance  of  the  meeting,  the  courtship,  and  the 
marriage  of  Abraham  Lincoln's  father  and  that  almost  fabulous  figure, 
Nancy  Hanks. 


96  ]         Abraham  Lincoln  and  His  Books 

Dixon,  Thomas 

"THE  SOUTHERNER  :    A  ROMANCE  OF  THE  REAL 
LINCOLN" — 

D.  Appleton  &  Company $2. 00 

The  Same — Popular  Copyright  Series — 

Grosset  &  Dunlap 1.00 

A  novel  that  contains  as  accurate  and  intimate  pictures  as  have 
been  drawn  of  the  heartrending  struggle  of  Abraham  Lincoln  to  save 
the  nation.  In  it  the  humble,  lion-hearted  man  is  carried  from  a  bare- 
foot boy  to  the  White  House.  Richly  dramatic;  and  the  full  tragedy 
of  the  scene  is  vividly  presented. 

Eggleston,  Edward 

"THE  GRAYSONS:    A  STORY  OP  ILLINOIS"- 

The  Century  Company $1.90 

A  detailed  picture  of  the  turbulent  life  of  the  pioneers,  scene,  Illinois 
(about  1850).  Abraham  Lincoln  is  introduced  as  counsel  in  a  murder 
trial.  He  convicts  the  leading  witness  of  perjury,  and  brings  the  guilt 
home  to  him. — Baker. 

Gerry,  Mrs.  Margarita  Spotting 
"THE  TOY-SHOP"— 

Harper  &  Brothers $0.60 

A  story  of  Lincoln.  The  great  man's  burdened  heart  finds  comfort 
in  visits  to  an  old  toy-maker,  and  inspiration  from  a  regiment  of  toys 
and  their  modest,  firm-standing  captain.  A  wonderful  study  of  Lincoln 
the  man — wise,  human,  and  reverently  tender. 

Greene,  Homer 

"A  LINCOLN  CONSCRIPT" — 

Houghton  Mifflin  Company $1 . 75 

A  stirring  story  of  a  Pennsylvania  boy  during  the  Civil  War  and  of 
the  result  of  the  meeting  between  his  father  and  President  Lincoln. 

Grierson,  Francis 

"THE  VALLEY  OF  SHADOWS" — 

John  Lane  Company $1 . 50 

"The  Valley  of  Shadows"  deals  with  those  wonderful  days  in  Illinois 
before  the  Civil  War  when  the  people  were  preparing  to  elect  Lincoln 
to  the  Presidency  and  a  new  era  was  dawning  in  America.  It  forms  a 


A  Bibliography  of  Books  in  Print        [  97 

most  remarkable  series  of  memories,  full  of  delicately  wrought  impres- 
sions selected  and  blended  with  rare  literary  skill,  and  has  all  the  move- 
ment of  a  fascinating  and  realistic  romance. 

Maule,  Mary  K. 

"A  PRAIRIE-SCHOONER  PRINCESS" — 

Lothrop,  Lee  &  Shepard $1.75 

Singmaster,  Elsie 
"GETTYSBURG" — 

Houghton  Mifflin  Company $1.26 

Miss  Singmaster  has  lived  all  her  life  in  Gettysburg,  and  she  has 
combined  her  intimate  knowledge  with  her  gift  for  powerful  narrative 
to  tell  not  only  of  soul-stirring  events  of  the  actual  fight  but  also  many 
incidents  that  grew  from  it  in  the  fifty  years  aftermath. 

Steiner,  Edward  A. 

"UNCLE  JOE'S  LINCOLN" — 

Fleming  H.  Revell  Company $1.26 

Few  books  from  Prof.  Steiner's  facile  pen  have  gripped  the  American 

heart  more  than  will  this  true  story  of  his  boyhood. 

A  true  story  of  delightful  episodes  that  move  every  patriotic  American 

to  greater  zeal  and  greater  service. 

Tarbell,  Ida  M. 

"HE  KNEW  LINCOLN" — 

The  MacMillan  Company $1.00 

"He  Knew  Lincoln"  portrays  the  human  traits  of  Lincoln's  character. 
It  shows  his  humor,  illustrated  in  the  famous  story  of  the  Socks,  his 
great  friendliness,  and  the  sorrow  and  loneliness  which  encompassed 
him  in  the  midst  of  his  enormous  activity,  because  of  the  terrible  re- 
sponsibility of  his  position. 

Tarbell,  Ida  M. 

"FATHER  ABRAHAM" — 

The  MacMillan  Company $1.00 

"Father  Abraham"  depicts  Lincoln  as  the  Father  of  the  Union  Army, 
the  man  who  was  so  interested  in  the  boys  in  blue  that  he  spent  much 
of  his  time  in  associating  with  them,  and  knew  more  of  the  army  than 
any  general.  Lincoln's  conception  of  the  war  and  his  idea  of  duty  in 
connection  with  it  are  splendidly  brought  out. 


98  ]         Abraham  Lincoln  and  His  Books 

Wittsie,  Honore 

"BENEFITS  FORGOT" — 

Frederick  A.  Stokes  Company $1 . 00 

"Benefits  Forgot."  A  story  of  Lincoln  and  Mother  Love.  A  true 
story  of  a  young  army  surgeon,  for  whose  education  his  mother  had 
made  great  sacrifices.  How  President  Lincoln  learns  of  the  young  man's 
neglect  of  his  mother,  and  brings  him  to  realize  his  ingratitude,  makes 
a  deeply  touching  story. 


POETRY  AND  DRAMA 

Dixon,  Thomas 

"A  MAN  OF  THE  PEOPLE" — A  drama  of  Abraham 
Lincoln — 

D.  Appleton  &  Company $1 . 75 

A  forceful  picture  of  harassed,  big-hearted  and  kindly  Abraham 
Lincoln. 

Drinkwater,  John 

"ABRAHAM  LINCOLN:    A  PLAY" — with  an  intro- 
duction by  Arnold  Bennett — 

Houghton  Mifflin  Company.     Boards $1 . 25 

"We  are  shown  Lincoln  just  as  we  should  like  to  imagine  him,  and 
as  we  believe  he  was — rugged,  indifferent  to  appearance,  tender-hearted, 
humorous,  sensitive  to  the  feelings  of  others,  and  sympathetic  with 
every  noble  passion;  but  firm  in  resolve,  and  immovable  from  the  line 
which  once  he  has  decided  upon  as  just  or  magnanimous." — Manchester 
Guardian. 

Snider,  Dr.  Denton  J. 

"THE  LINCOLNIAD" — A  National  Epos  in  Four  Parts. 

The  William  Harvey  Miner  Company,  Inc. 

Here  the  attempt  is  made  to  construe  the  whole  Lincoln  as  the 
American  hero  of  the  new  national  Epos  in  four  different,  yet  inter- 
related books  each  of  which  turns  upon  a  pivotal  crisis  of  his  life,  wherein 
is  specially  emphasized  his  inner  evolution  amid  the  clash  of  outer 
events. 

1.    LINCOLN  IN  THE  BLACKHAWK  WAR 

The  first  important  round  of  incidents  (in  1832)  to  which  Lincoln 
himself  looked  back  as  formative  of  his  career  was  the  Black  Hawk 
War.  Elected  Captain,  sworn  into  service  by  Jefferson  Davis,  mustered 


A  Bibliography  of  Books  in  Print        [  99 

out  by  Robert  Anderson,  he  fought  the  Indian:  but  the  deeper  conflict 
then  already  brewing  was  the  Civil  War,  whose  forecast  was  the  nulli- 
fication of  South  Carolina  that  same  year  (1832).  Here  is  seen  Lincoln's 
ideal  preparation  for  his  future  task.  The  outer  landscape  is  fully 
depicted — the  Mississippi  river  and  the  Illinois  prairie — as  well  as  the 
frontier  people  in  deed  and  dialect. 
Written  in  free  meter  and  rhyme $2.00 

2.  LINCOLN  AND  ANN  RUTLEDGE 

An  idyllic  poem  (in  hexametral  verse)  of  Lincoln's  one  real  love — 
the  second  great  crisis  of  his  life,  and  his  deepest  emotional  experience, 
whose  sorrow  transfigured  his  soul  and  whose  memory  never  left  him 
even  during  the  Presidency.  Village  life  of  the  frontiersman  is  por- 
trayed, and  the  great  migration  to  the  Northwest $2.00 

3.  LINCOLN  IN  THE  WHITE  HOUSE 

This  epical  theme  takes  up  Lincoln  in  the  Civil  War  till  Gettysburg, 
revealing  his  inner  development  through  all  the  war's  casualties,  until 
he  becomes  the  supreme  national  leader  of  his  time.  Also  a  new  poetic 
mythology  rises  into  view  to  express  his  peculiar  relation  to  the  Upper 
powers,  or  the  so-called  prime  movers  of  history.  Also  is  shown 
Lincoln's  mighty  and  long-continued  wrestle  with  his  fate,  here  called 
the  Fatal  Line,  which  is  drawn  between  the  two  contending  armies,  and 
which  lies  also  in  the  Nation. 
Mainly  blank  verse  with  prose  scenes $2.00 

4.  LINCOLN  AT  RICHMOND 

The  triumph  of  Lincoln  over  his  Fate.  His  fourth  grand  Epoch  is 
his  visit  to  the  Army  of  the  Potomac  in  its  last  Campaign,  when  he 
crosses  the  Fatal  Line  for  the  first  time  and  enters  Richmond,  at  whose 
Capitol  takes  place  his  last  great  experience,  his  so-called  Transfigura- 
tion, which  is  the  final  act  of  his  life,  his  death  occurring  a  few  days 
later.  Written  in  a  variety  of  verse-forms $2.00 


Waller,  Mary  E. 
"Gun  BENNY"— 

Little  Brown  &  Company $1.25 

A  narrative  poem,  founded  on  historical  fact,  The  time  is  March 
to  April,  1865,  the  place  a  village  in  Vermont.  The  divisions  of  the 
work  are  as  follows:  1.  The  Coming  of  the  Letters.  2.  Salus  Patriae. 
3.  Hannah  and  Agatha.  4.  Lincoln.  5.  Peace. 


100  ]       Abraham  Lincoln  and  His  Books 

Whitman,  Walt 

"MEMORIES  OF  PRESIDENT  LINCOLN  AND  OTHER 
LYRICS  OF  THE  WAR" — 

Thomas  B.  Mosher $1.00 

Small  octavo  format  (434x7)  printed  on  Van  Gelder  hand-made 
paper  in  Caslon  10-point  old-style  type  with  Chiswick  ornaments, 
bound  in  grey  boards  with  white  paper  labels.  Pp.  1-XII:  1-46  colo- 
phon included. 

Whitman,  Walt 

"MEMORIES  OF  PRESIDENT  LINCOLN" — 

Thomas  B.  Mosher $5.00 

This  edition  includes  the  full  text  of  Lincoln's  Gettysburg  Address, 
a  foreword  by  Horace  Traubel,  to  which  are  added  selections  from  Frede- 
rick W.  Lehmann's  address,  and  a  short  and  beautiful  appreciation  of 
Lincoln  by  the  editor  of  the  St.  Louis  Louis  Mirror,  William  Marion 
Reedy.  A  selection  is  also  given  from  John  Burroughs  as  well  as  the  great 
passage  in  full  from  Lowell's  Commemoration  Ode. 

The  text  of  the  poem  is  printed  in  14-point  old-style  Roman,  initial 
letters  in  green  ink,  with  head-bands  and  tail-pieces  of  becoming  dignity. 
The  frontispiece  from  an  original  photograph  of  Lincoln  cannot  be  ex- 
celled and  is  the  exact  size  of  the  original  negative. 

Three  hundred  copies,  medium  octavo,  Italian  hand-made  paper, 
old-style  olive  green  Fabriano  boards,  stamped  in  color  to  match,  slide 


JUVENILE 

Abbott,  J.  S.  C. 

"LIFE  OF  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN" — 

Stanton  &  Van  Vliet  Company $0.50 

A  biography  of  President  Lincoln  taken  from  "Abbott's  Lives  of  the 
Presidents." 

Brooks,  Elbridge  S. 

"THE  TRUE  STORY  OF  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN"  told 
for  Boys  and  Girls — 

Lothrop,  Lee  &  Shepard  Company $2. 00 

The  book  does  not  talk  of  war  or  politics,  but  tells  for  young  Ameri- 
cans the  real,  true,  sympathetic,  wonderful  story  of  one  of  the  greatest 
men  that  ever  lived — Abraham  Lincoln  the  American. 


A  Bibliography  of  Books  in  Print      [  101 

Butterworth,  Hezekiah 

"!N  THE  BOYHOOD  OF  LINCOLN" — 

D.  Appleton  &  Company $2.00 

The  upstanding  nature  of  the  boy,  and  his  surroundings  amid  the 

pioneer  scenes  of  his  youth  form  absorbing,  reading  for  the  boys  and 
girls  of  today. 

Coffin,  C.  C. 

"ABRAHAM  LINCOLN" — 

Harper  &  Brothers $2.50 

The  author's  brilliant  power  of  revivifying  the  past,  his  skill  in 
interweaving  anecdote  with  narrative,  his  ability  to  present  characters 
without  dull  description,  are  placed  at  their  best  use  in  sketching  the 
We  and  times  of  the  nation's  hero. 

Ellias,  Edith  L. 

"ABRAHAM  LINCOLN" — Illustrated — 

Frederick  A.  Stokes  Company $1 .50 

A  readable  account  of  the  life  of  Lincoln,  told  vividly  and  accurately 
in  a  way  to  interest  young  readers. 

Gordy,  W.  F. 

"ABRAHAM  LINCOLN" — Illustrated — 

Charles  Scribner's  Sons $1.00 

The  Same — School  edition — 

Charles  Scribner's  Sons $0. 92 

A  delightful  biography  of  the  "First  Great  American"  for  girls  and 
boys  by  a  man  who  has  for  years  been  writing  successfully  for  young 
people.  Mr.  Gordy  has  for  many  years  been  collecting  the  materials 
for  this  book  and  has  put  his  heart  into  the  writing  of  it. 

Hamilton,  Mary  A. 

"THE  STORY  OF  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN" — "Children's 
Heroes"  series — 

E.  P.  Dutton  &  Company $1.00 

This  dainty  book  is  designed  for  children  from  eight  to  ten,  who  are 

just  making   friends   with  great  characters  of   history.     Will  prove 
an  incentive  to  further  reading. 


102  ]       Abraham  Lincoln  and  His  Books 

Mace,  W.  H. 

"ABRAHAM  LINCOLN:    THE  MAN  OF  THE  PEOPLE" — 

Rand  McNally  &  Company $0.60 

In  "Abraham  Lincoln,  the  Man  of  the  People,"  the  latest  volume 
in  the  series  of  "Little  Lives  of  Great  Men,"  Professor  Mace  has  written 
a  sympathetic  biography  that  will  go  straight  to  the  hearts  of  children. 
Like  the  other  books  of  the  series,  it  was  written  with  the  child  in  view, 
and  presents  those  sides  of  the  great  man's  life  which  find  their  counter- 
part in  the  life  of  every  boy. 

Mason,  Alfred  Bishop 

"ToM  STRONG,  LINCOLN'S  SCOUT" — 

Henry  Holt  &  Company $1.50 

This  is  the  story  of  the  fourth  Tom  Strong,  who  finds  himself  at  the 
White  House  as  an  older  chum  of  Lincoln's  son.  The  President  soon 
finds  use  for  Tom  in  his  country's  service,  and  he  becomes  an  actor  in 
the  most  stirring  events  of  the  Civil  War.  It  is  a  gripping  story  for 
boys,  developed  against  an  historically  accurate  background. 

Moores,  C.  W. 

"THE  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN  FOR  BOYS  AND  GIRLS" — 

Houghton  Mifflin  Company $1.35 

Morgan,  James 

"ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  THE  BOY  AND  THE  MAN" — 

The  MacMillan  Company $2. 00 

The  Same — Popular  Copyright  Edition — 

Grosset  &  Dunlap $1.00 

This  book  is  intended  for  younger  readers.  It  is  an  authoritative 
account  of  the  life  of  Lincoln,  but  lays  special  stress  on  the  personal 
interest,  being  especially  rich  in  anecdotes. 

Nicolay,  Helen 

"THE  BOY'S  LIFE  OF  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN" — 

The  Century  Company $1 . 75 

Based  on  the  great  Nicolay  and  Hay  history.  A  vivid  and  inspiring 
narrative  for  all  young  Americans.  In  choice  of  incident  and  event, 
in  accuracy,  in  sympathy,  in  vivid  interest,  it  stands  as  an  ideal  life  of 
Lincoln  for  young  people. 


A  Bibliography  of  Books  in  Print      [  103 

Putnam,  Harriet 

"LIFE  OF  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN  FOB  YOUNG  PEOPLE" — 
Written  in  one-syllable  words. 

McLaughlin  Brothers $1 . 00 

Putnam,  M.  Louise 

"THE  CHILDREN'S  LIFE  OF  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN" — 

A.  C.  McClurg  &  Company $1.50 

This  book,  in  the  opinion  of  the  publishers,  provides,  at  the  present 
time,  the  best  available  account  of  the  life  of  the  beloved  President 
for  children  from  ten  to  fifteen  years  of  age.  It  is  written  in  a  very 
instructive  and  inspirational  style,  and  is  replete  with  pictures  that 
delight  children. 

Sparhawk,  Frances  S. 

"LIFE  OF  LINCOLN  FOR  BOYS" — 

T.  Y.  Crowell  Company $1.50 

Out  of  a  mass  of  recently  discovered  material  the  present  author , 
a  well-known  writer,  has  woven  a  story  replete  with  life  and  interest. 

Stoddard,  William  0. 

"LONG  BRIDGE  BOYS" — 

Lothrop,  Lee  &  Shepard $1.50 

A  story  of  '61  introducing  Abraham  Lincoln. 

Stoddard,  William  0. 
"THE  BOY  LINCOLN"— 

D.  Appleton  &  Company $1.75 

This  is  an  absorbing,  forceful  account  of  the  early  days  of  Abraham 
Lincoln,  when  he  was  a  boy  living  on  the'  frontiers. 

Wheeler,  Daniel  E. 

"TRUE  STORIES  OF  GREAT  AMERICANS:  ABRAHAM 
LINCOLN" — 

The  MacMillan  Company $1.00 

This  is  a  complete  and  accurate  life  of  Lincoln,  prepared  especially 
for  younger  readers.  It  presents  all  the  important  historical  facts  of 
Lincoln's  career,  as  well  as  much  personal  matter,  but  is  brief  and 
admirably  suited  to  either  home  or  school  reading  for  children. 


104  ]       Abraham  Lincoln  and  His  Books 

TRIBUTES  TO  LINCOLN 

Davis,  Mary  Wright 

"THE  BOOK  OF  LINCOLN" — 

George  H.  Doran  Company $3. 00 

A  collection  of  the  tributes  of  the  world  to  Lincoln.  In  many 
respects  the  best  book  of  its  kind.  Suitable  for  a  gift. 

Oldroyd,  Osborn  H. 

"LINCOLN  MEMORIAL  ALBUM" — 

Osborn  H.  Oldroyd $2.50 

Contains  the  reminiscences  and  recollections  of  200  of  the  contemp- 
oraries of  Lincoln.  Men  who  knew  him  through  life. 

Mr.  Oldroyd  is  custodian  of  the  "Lincoln  House"  in  Washington, 
where  the  great  President  died;  and  has  been  for  many  years  a  careful 
collector  of  Lincoln  material. 

Oldroyd,  Osborn  H.  (Compiler) 

"THE  POETS'  LINCOLN" — With  an  introduction  by 
Marion  Mills  Miller — 

Osborn  H.  Oldroyd $1.00 

A  collection  of  tributes  by  the  poets  of  the  world  to  Abraham  Lincoln. 

Williams,  Dallas  A. 

"THE  PRAISE  OF  LINCOLN" — 

The  Bobbs-Merrill  Company $2.00 

An  anthology  of  verse  written  to  and  about  Abraham  Lincoln, 
containing  102  poems.  With  an  introduction  by  Thomas  R.  Marshall, 
Vice-President  of  the  United  States. 


LINCOLN'S  BIRTHDAY  EXERCISES,  ETC. 

Barnard,  George  Grey 

"BARNARD'S  LINCOLN" — 

Stewart  &  Kidd  Company $0.75 

The  Creation  and  Dedication  of  George  Grey  Barnard's  Statue  of 
Abraham  Lincoln,  which  stands  in  Lytle  Park,  Cincinnati.  The 
Dedication  delivered  by  the  Hon.  Wm.  Howard  Taft.  Etching  of  the 
statue  by  E.  T.  Hurley.  Seven  full-page  illustrations.  80  pages. 
Printed  on  cameo  paper. 


A  Bibliography  of  Books  in  Print      [  105 

Faxon,  Grace  B.  (Compiler) 

"PIECES  AND  PLAYS  FOR  LINCOLN'S  BIRTHDAY" — 

Hall  &  McCreary  Company.  Paper $0.35 

Cloth 75 

Contains  125  selections,  including  recitations,  acrostics,  Lincoln 

verses  for  familiar  tunes,  quotations  from  Lincoln,  anecdotes  of  Lincoln. 

Lincoln  epigrams,  programs  and  a  collection  of  dialogues  and  plays,  etc. 

Fowler,  H.  A.  (Editor) 

"LlNCOLNIANA  BOOK  PLATES  AND  COLLECTIONS" 

Four  Seas  Company.    Boards $2.50 

Langdon,  W.  C. 

"ABRAHAM  LINCOLN  TODAY" — 

The  University  of  Illinois  Press $0.50 

Being  the  complete  program  and  text  of  the  Lincoln  day  convoca- 
tion at  the  University  of  Illinois,  1918,  with  addresses  by  President 
Edmund  J.  James  and  Captain  Fernand  Baldensperger,  of  the  French 
Army.  Illustrated  by  two  rare  photographs  of  Lincoln,  the  Travers 
portrait  and  the  Lambert  ambrotype  and  by  photographs  of  the  speakers 
and  the  convocation  groups. 

"LINCOLN'S  BIRTHDAY  EXERCISES  FOR  THE 
SCHOOL-ROOM" — Teacher's  Helps  Series — 

Educational  Publishing  Company.     Pamphlet $0.24 

Mawson,  Agnes 

"WlNNOWINGS  FOR  LlNCOLN*S  BlRTHDAY" — 

D.  Appleton  &  Company $0.30 

Selections  from  Lincoln's  speeches,  his  favorite  poems,  beautiful 
thoughts  about  him,  etc.  The  material  is  collected  with  a  view  to  its 
suitability  for  use  in  commemoration  of  Lincoln's  birthday,  and  to 
cultivate  a  fuller  appreciation  of  the  strength  and  beauty  of  his  char- 
acter. Divided  into  two  parts,  for  grammar  and  high  schools,  and 
anecdotes  for  little  folk. 

Oldroyd,  Osborn  H. 

"PROGRAM  OF  EXERCISES  FOR  THE  ANNIVERSARY 
OF  LINCOLN'S  BIRTHDAY" — 

Osborn  H.  Oldroyd    Pamphlet $0. 10 

Contains:  "The  Boyhood  of  Lincoln;"  "Brief  Sketch  of  the  Life 
of  Abraham  Lincoln;"  "What  Made  Lincoln  Great;"  "Lincoln  as  a 
Humorist;"  "Recitations;"  "Gettysburg  Address;"  twenty  numbers  in 
all. 


106  ]       Abraham  Lincoln  and  His  Books 

Sindelar,  J.  C. 

"LINCOLN  DAY  ENTERTAINMENTS" — 

A.  Flanagan  Company.     Paper $0 . 40 

The  best  and  most  complete  book  of  entertainments  for  this  occa- 
sion. The  readings  and  recitations  are  both  original  and  selected;  the 
plays  and  dialogues,  drills,  pantomimes,  and  tableaux  are  all  new. 
For  all  grades. 


SCHOOL  TEXT  BOOKS 

Baldwin,  James 

"ABRAHAM  LINCOLN" — (For  Sixth  Year). 

American  Book  Company $0.72 

This  thrilling  story  of  the  most  American  of  all  our  Presidents  is 
much  more  than  an  ordinary  biography.  It  traces  briefly  the  progress 
of  our  government  from  the  time  of  its  organization  to  the  end  of  the 
great  Civil  War,  and  it  makes  plain  the  causes  and  motives  which 
brought  about  the  tremendous  crisis.  Considerable  space  is  given  to 
Lincoln's  boyhood  and  youth,  but  the  book  is  free  from  wearisome 
details,  as  well  as  from  political  bias  or  sectional  prejudice. 

Baldwin,  James 

"FOUR  GREAT  AMERICANS:  WASHINGTON, 
FRANKLIN,  WEBSTER,  LINCOLN" — (For  Fourth 
Year)— 

American  Book  Company $0 . 64 

The  story  of  Abraham  Lincoln  is  simply  and  interestingly  told  in 
the  last  56  pages  of  this  book.  Some  of  the  chapter  headings  are: 
The  Kentucky  Home;  School  and  Books;  Life  in  the  Backwoods;  The 
First  Years  in  Illinois;  etc.,  etc. 

Bergold,  Lilian  C.  (Editor) 
"ABRAHAM  LINCOLN" — 

Educational  Publishing  Company $0.50 

A  collection  of  authentic  stories,  with  poems,  songs  and  programs 
for  boys,  girls,  and  teachers  of  elementary  schools. 


A  Bibliography  of  Books  in  Print      [  107 

Draper,  Andrew  S.  (Editor) 

"LINCOLN  SELECTIONS" — (Gateway  Series). 

American  Book  Company $0.52 

This  volume  gives  in  the  introduction  so  much  of  Lincoln's  life  as 
seems  necessary  to  recall  to  the  reader's  mind  the  setting  of  his  ad- 
dresses and  state  papers.  It  contains  in  addition  to  the  graver  and 
more  stately  public  addresses  which  are  best  known,  several  more 
informal  addresses,  with  which  the  people  are  much  less  familiar,  and 
a  considerable  number  of  letters,  of  which  by  far  the  greater  number 
of  people  know  nothing  at  all. 

Gaston,  Charles  R.  (Editor) 

"LINCOLN'S  ADDRESS  AT  COOPER  INSTITUTE  AND 
MACAULAY'S  SPEECHES  ON  COPYRIGHT" — 
Edited  with  Introduction  and  Notes.  (Stand- 
ard English  Classics) — 

Ginn  &  Company $0.44 

Contains  complete  address  as  delivered  on  February  27,  1860. 

Lincoln,  Abraham 

"EMANCIPATION  PROCLAMATIO N" — (Riverside 
Literature  Series) — 

Houghton  Mifflin  Company.     Paper $0.28 

Moores,  Chas.  W.  (Editor) 

"LINCOLN — ADDRESSES  AND  LETTERS" — (Eclectic 
English  Classics) — 

American  Book  Company $0. 40 

In  the  preparation  of  this  collection  of  the  writings  of  Abraham 
Lincoln  the  editor  has  had  in  mind  the  chief  value  which  it  should 
possess  for  the  reader.  That  value  is  to  be  found  in  the  revelation 
which  his  writings  give  of  the  personality  of  one  of  the  greatest  public 
characters  in  all  history.  So  those  speeches  and  letters  have  been 
chosen  which  reveal  the  most  of  the  man,  Lincoln.  With  this  in  view, 
the  notes  are  meant  to  explain  the  man  and  the  occasion,  and  with  the 
letters  give  such  information  as  will  enable  the  reader  to  understand 
better  why  the  letters  were  written  and  who  Lincoln's  correspondents 
were. 


108  ]       Abraham  Lincoln  and  His  Books 

Tarbett,  Ida  M.  (Editor) 

"ABRAHAM  LINCOLN" — Selections  from  the 
Letters,  Speeches  and  State  Papers  of  Abraham 
Lincoln.  Edited  with  Introduction  and  Notes. 
(Standard  English  Glassies) — 

Ginn  &  Company '. $0.48 

Contains  40  selections  which  date  from  1832  when  Lincoln  made 
his  first  public  address  (Views  on  Money-Loaning,  Education,  and 
Lawmaking)  to  1865  when  he  made  his  last  speech  (The  Reconstruction 
of  the  Southern  States).  Offers  his  views  on  education,  politics,  slavery, 
labor  and  capital,  proclamation,  letters,  messages,  etc. 

Thomas,  Isaac  (Editor) 

"THE  WORDS  OF  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN" — 

American  Book  Company $0 . 76 

The  main  purpose  of  this  book  is  to  put  within  the  reach  of  our 
youth  a  collection  of  Lincoln's  words  which,  in  themselves,  will  be  a 
source  of  inspiration  to  all  that  read  them  and  will  serve  as  models  of 
good  English  to  the  schools,  and  to  make  known  his  words  as  they 
ought  to  be  known  by  all  good  Americans. 

Wade,  Mary  HazeUon 

"ABRAHAM  LINCOLN" — (Little  Folk's  Play  of 
American  Heroes) — 

R.  G.  Badger  Company $0.75 

In  simple  form,  and  presenting  the  heroes  in  successive  periods  of 
development,  it  enables  the  child  to  read  and  act  out  their  lives  at  one 
and  the  same  time,  entering  into  the  great  man's  thoughts  and  feelings 
as  they  conquer  every  obstacle  and  become  at  last  "great." 


001  155342 


